Love Bites
by Cosima-wants-the-D-elphine
Summary: Random idea that struck me over Halloween. Alison is a newly born vampire and Beth is a werewolf, but neither know about each other's alliance to opposing sides which makes loving each other difficult. (I'm waiting for more plot to hit me and unsure if I will continue.)
1. Chapter 1

The wolf prowled, searching for a decent meal. But the night wore a bitter veil and no living creature in its right mind would be out, especially not this late. And the wolf knew that. If it was honest with itself, it knew what the outcome would be even before its hunt began.

And so the wolf, reluctantly and culpably, awaited a potential victim. Soon enough, the animal heard footsteps. They sounded soft and careful, but not fearful. Confident, but also modest. They reminded the wolf of its own mother, who existed only as a distant and foggy memory. The wolf hated to kill this person, this... _woman_.

The wolf could smell it on her. The gentle nature and femininity. The wolf pictured the woman, her kind eyes and a voice like velvet—when rubbed the wrong way, it still felt pleasant to the senses.

It'd be a shame to rip out her throat.

The wolf paced back and forth, waiting and listening to the person's footsteps as they grew closer. It could hear the blood pulsing through her veins and sense her warmth. The wolf found it both luscious and alluring and it couldn't wait to lay eyes on her.

And after what seemed like an eternity, the wolf saw her.

A woman more stunning than the sunrise atop a mountain and more mesmerizing than snowfall against black pavement; her skin looked like that of a porcelain doll and her hair a dark chestnut brown with a glossy sheen from the moonlight. She was indeed the definition of ravishing.

The wolf shrank back, unable to carry out the previously thought on deed, and disappeared into the bushes, its presence unknown to the woman.

. . .

The pale woman walked quietly through the woods, watching for any signs of movement. She'd seen the news and heard stories of a creature lurking about at night. A creature that would sometimes feed on human flesh. Yet here she was, alone outside in a dark forest. She had no fear of such an animal. A wolf? Surely she would be able to handle herself.

She loved these woods. She could smell the cedar and pine and hear the wind rustling the leaves ever so gently. A sudden disruption in the constant rustling made her stop walking and she listened for anything peculiar. Maybe the reports were right.

There it was again. Before she could even react, she heard something dart away in the opposite direction. She questioned herself, wondering if she could carry on or turn back around. She was new the the area, she didn't know her way around. That was why she knew she was vulnerable. That was why the others said she was vulnerable. She sighed and reluctantly turned around only to come face to face with another person. She jumped back with a sharp inhale before taking in the sight of the person.

"H-Hi..." the pale one breathed.

. . .

It was exactly how she thought it would sound. The woman's voice chimed like church bells, full and delicate. The wolf's stomach churned with excitement as it opened its human mouth to speak.

"Hey," was all she could manage.

"You frightened me," the woman's delicate voice told her. Her voice shook like chimes.

"Sorry," the other woman replied. "What are you even doing out at this time of night? It's dangerous out here. There are creatures lurking about these woods. Haven't you heard?"

"I have... But I'm not afraid of them."

"But you're afraid of me."

She knew that the pale woman was afraid of her. She could smell her fear. The woman was caught off-guard by this sudden remark and she scrambled to assemble an answer.

"Well, you jumped out at me."

"I didn't jump out at you, you almost ran into me..." the stranger firmly pointed out.

"You're very stubborn, Ms..."

"Beth," the strange woman finally introduced herself.

"That's it? You're just Beth," the woman stated incredulously.

"To you, yeah. And you are?"

"Alison," the pale woman replied, staying as mysterious as Beth.

"Well, Alison, we need to get you home. It's not safe out here—"

"And who are you to say that?"

"There's a wolf in these woods," Beth told her seriously. "Right here, right now."

"You don't know that—"

"I do. I saw one myself," Beth insisted, hoping to rush the woman out of the wolves' territory before it was too late.

"I don't even know you," Alison reminded her, still refusing to move. "How do I know that you're not just some weirdo who's going to stab me in the back and kill me?"

"I don't want to scare you any more than you already are... but I could've killed you already," Beth shrugged beginning to walk away. She understood the psychology of the human mind. As scared of her as this woman was, she would follow. Beth felt certain.

"What're you doing out in these woods?" Alison asked, following Beth just as she'd assumed.

"Looking for something," Beth told her simply. It wasn't a lie. She'd been looking for something to eat before she morphed.

"That's not cryptic."

"What are you doing?"

"I also happened to be looking for something," Alison admitted as she allowed the stranger to lead her out of the forest. She studied the back of the woman now that she was up close and found a muscular form to her. The woman was probably right, she probably could've killed her already if that has been her plan. Maybe. Then again, they were about the same size. It was a toss-up as far as Alison was concerned and ticking the woman off probably wouldn't be the best idea.

"Where do you live?" Beth asked, once they got onto a street. "I'll take ya home."

"I'm fine," Alison assured her. "Honest."

"Are you sure?"

"I can handle myself. Thanks," Alison nodded as she started without the acquaintance. Beth watched her for a few yards before disappearing into a dark alley and transforming herself and stalking the woman from a distance. She had to be sure that she was safe.

She watched as the woman disappeared into an old mansion as an older man let her inside. He too was pale, but he had white hair and a round voice.

"Aldous, I can explain—"

The wolf heard her protest cut short by a sharp noise that she could only assume was a slap across the face.

"You _smell_," he practically growled before the wolf heard him storm away. "Like a wet dog!"

A series of scurrying footsteps occurred soon after as Alison chased after him.

"I told you not to go into those woods!" he roared. "Do you not understand the meaning of danger? Stay out of the woods!"

"Aldous, what is in there?" Alison shrilly demanded to know. "What is in there that you're so afraid of—what's in there that you're not telling me?"

"Just stay out," he snapped and the wolf heard a door slam shut, separating him from Alison. The wolf shrank back as she heard the front door open and saw Alison emerge from the house, clearly upset. The wolf sat in silence, watching her in the cover of the dark and knowing that she wouldn't be able to see her.

Alison glanced up, coincidentally looking in the direction of the wolf, and seemed to be able to see it despite the lack of light.

"You followed me out of the woods, didn't you?" she asked it softly. Her voice would've been inaudible to any mere human. "You're what Beth was trying to protect me from... Probably Aldous too. You don't seem so bad."

Beth only stared at her, never daring to come back out in the light.

"You're cute," Alison whispered to the timid wolf. "I'd come closer if you let me."

The wolf pressed itself up against the building as a rejection toward the suggestion and Alison understood immediately.

"Suit yourself. Stay right here," Alison gently told it as she stood up. "I'll be right back."

The brown wolf watched as she went back into the house. Alison went to get some meat out of the refrigerator. It wasn't like she was going to eat it. And once she returned outside and scanned the area for the wolf, she realized that it had vanished.

. . .

Beth hadn't disappeared, she'd simply moved to somewhere Alison wouldn't be able to find her. She hadn't known if the woman was going to get Aldous or what, but she sure as hell wasn't going to stick around to find out. She could smell the metallic scent of blood on the raw meat the woman had brought out for her and oh how tempting it was. She watched the woman place the platter down and disappear into the house, leaving it unguarded in case the creature decided to come back. The wolf skulked toward it before hungrily devouring the portion, leaving the plate looking exceptionally clean. It was then that the wolf noticed Alison's eyes peering at her through the window. The creature calmly trotted away into the night, never looking back at the gracious person watching it.

. . .

Alison snuck away from the manor with full intention of finding that mysterious wolf. She had to know why it seemed so mesmerizing and... human.

It seemed to be watching over her like a guardian and understand everything she said. Animals like that only existed in Hollywood and they'd been trained. She just had to see this creature again. She ran back toward the path she'd taken several nights ago and just out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blurry human as she dashed by. She stopped and turned to see who else would be outside so late at night.

"Hey, Alison..." a familiar voice called out. Alison could hear the smirk in her voice as she turned herself around to come face to face with Beth. "Not following the laws of curfew, I see."

"Neither are you," Alison huffed, trying to catch her breath. She could see Beth better than she'd been able to those several nights ago. She wore boots and slacks with a white collared shirt, an outfit more typical of a man, yet she wore it better than any man Alison had previously laid eyes on.

"Like I said. I can take care of myself," Beth insisted as she pushed herself off the wall she'd been leaving on previously. She approached Alison and even from a the distance, she could pick up her scent. "What're you doing?"

"Looking for a wolf," Alison replied sheepishly, assuming she sounded crazy to the acquaintance.

"A wolf? Don't you mean _the_ wolf?"

"No."

"So you think there's more than one."

"Don't they travel in packs?"

"Usually," Beth nodded.

"That implies otherwise," Alison stated suspiciously.

"It does indeed," Beth grinned a Cheshire smile and got even closer to the woman. "Would you like company? It's dark out. Wouldn't want anything _bad_ to happen."

"You know, I'm tempted to say no," Alison told her bluntly. "But there's something about you..."

"And what is that?"

"I feel like you know more than you lead on to," Alison told her with certainty. She could sense the smugness on this woman and while it really should have been off-putting, she found it alluring.

"You feel right," Beth told her as they started on their way. "So, Alison. What's this wolf look like? Is it ugly?"

"It's _cute_..." Alison trailed off once she noticed a smile had crept onto her face. "And remarkably intelligent from what I can tell."

"I doubt you'll be seeing a wolf tonight," Beth told her as if she were trying to burst her bubble.

"Well, I'm going to wait for it anyway."

"Guess that means I'm stuck waiting too..." Beth sighed and feigned annoyance.

"No. You can go," Alison told her simply.

"Ali. It's dark. Somethin' bad could happen to you," Beth reminded her vehemently. "You could be attacked whether it's a wolf or a human. A tender girl like you could get really hurt."

"What makes you so sure you could overpower someone or something? We're about the same size."

"But I'm probably stronger than you," Beth argued pointedly. "Face it, gorgeous. You probably haven't been doing any heavy lifting within your lifetime. Wanna know how I can tell? Your toothpick arms. You want to sit out here alone or do you want company?"

"I suppose you're better than nothing..." Alison decided and Beth uttered a sarcastic thank you. "What do you know about this wolf anyhow?"

"It's massive. Much more massive than a typical wolf," Beth began neutrally, feeling strange because she was talking in the third person about herself. "And then there is the folklore."

"What folklore?"

"Come. Sit," Beth gestured to a spot near herself on a large rock and the other woman hesitantly sat down, uneasy at the idea of sitting on outdoor grime. "The wolf is said to be a few centuries old..."

"In dog years?"

"No."

"That's impossible."

"Ah, but it's rumored to be so because it is said that she—the wolf is female—isn't a typical wolf. You see, people claim to have seen her shift into a human form and vice versa. But whoever sees the latter usually doesn't survive to tell the story."

"Hm. I do love ghost stories."

"Hush. Quit interrupting," Beth threw her an insincere dirty look. "The woman is supposedly cursed. She pissed off the wrong person and that person retaliated by biting her, thus merging her DNA with that of a wolf—the crazy bastard had supposedly gotten some form of rabies from a wolf bite and decided to pass it on. But the strain mutated and the victim didn't end up with rabies. However her immortality is a mystery, it seems. Perhaps it—roaming the earth forever in solitude—is her punishment."

"Far-fetched much?"

"If only..." Beth murmured inaudibly.

"So the wolf has a human brain."

"No. She's half human and half wolf. She can change."

"Wouldn't someone like that be animalistic? A feral human at the worst, perhaps."

"Didn't you say the wolf seemed gentle?"

"I don't think so..."

"Well I could've sworn I heard that from somewhere," Beth finished quickly.

"I don't see how you could've... All anyone ever talks about is who the latest victim was and how mutilated the person was."

"Right..." Beth muttered.

"But like you, I believe that it's a gentle soul."

"Oh I don't believe that—" Beth stopped as soon as the words sunk in. Alison's words stunned Beth the way a cushion would a cliff diver who'd jumped blindly. It felt like a refreshing rain after a year without rain and the shapeshifter could feel her tough heart become soggy as it surged with the sensation of being so moved by those words.

"We've taken over its—_her_—land. We've driven her prey away... What else does she have left to feed on anyway?" Alison thought aloud, only melting the shifter more. "I did a stupid thing a few nights ago..."

Beth was off on cloud nine, floating anywhere and everywhere. That is, until she was slapped on the arm by a frustrated Alison.

"Were you even listening to me?"

"No," Beth admitted guiltily.

"I did a stupid thing a few nights ago," Alison repeated.

"What did you do?"

"I put a plate of meat out for it—the wolf. Now she's probably going to come after me, right?"

"I-I would hope not," Beth stammered, hoping to reach into the depths of her own soul.

"Well, perhaps I'll do that again. Maybe all the time. She seemed grateful."

"She was," Beth stopped, realizing what she'd done and quickly covered. "I'm sure."

"A friend of mine keeps giving me meat... I can't eat that," Alison smiled sadly.

"Vegetarian?"

"Something like that," she sighed wistfully. "She's not coming tonight, is she?"

Beth shook her head apologetically as Alison rose to her feet.

"Walk me home?"

"Sure, but I can only go so far..." Beth told her as Alison led them out of the woods. The paler woman noticed her companion relax immediately once they'd gotten completely out of the forest.

"Why is that?"

"The master of my house calls... As I'm sure yours does as well," Beth sighed as she stopped where she had when she'd been a wolf those several nights ago—exactly three yards away from Alison's home.

"I liked your company," Alison told her as she gazed at her quizzically, wondering why Beth had stopped so abruptly.

"I enjoyed yours as well, Ms. Alison."

"I hope I'm not being too forward with asking if you'd like to join me again sometime..." Alison hinted as she re-approached Beth.

"I'd like that," Beth nodded with a grin as she backed away from that mysterious, invisible line.

"I'll see you around," Alison sighed. Beth could've sworn she could sense disappointment on the woman, but if she did then Alison masked it well.

"See you," Beth murmured once she was out of earshot.

. . .

"Don't lie to me..." the man rolled his eyes as he stomped around the mansion. "I can smell the moss on your clothes. You were in the forest again!"

"So what if I was?"

"I told you that that territory is dangerous. I don't want you out there alone."

"I wasn't alone."

"Oh really?" he asked flatly, clearly not believing her. "And who, may I ask, accompanied you? Certainly not me. So who else do you value of such trust?"

"A friend."

"Does this friend happen to have fur? Because you smell like wet dog!" he shouted at her. "Every time you go there, you smell like two things: damp moss and wet dog!"

"I've only been there twice—"

"Two for two has proven me right. You stink! Go wash off. I'll have dinner ready by the time you come down."

"I'm not hungry."

"But you _shall_ eat, Alison."

His statement was not a suggestion nor a request. It was a very firm command. By the time she came back down, he had the entire table set and the food on the plates. She poked at her food, but refused to bring it to her own mouth. They sat in silence for quite some time.

"Aldous, I met a woman the other day," Alison told him suddenly after staring at a plate of food in front of her for a good half hour.

"This is pertinent because..."

"Because she told me a story about a werewolf."

"The woman knows about werewolves?" the man paused and thought before taking a forkful and forcibly swallowing the food. "That is interesting... Not many people nowadays know about such things. Tell me, does she know about vampires as well? Like you and I?"

"I don't know."

"Get in close with this woman," Aldous instructed her, seemingly proud of her finding. "She can help."

"Help what?"

"With our little werewolf situation."

"So they exist."

"They do indeed."

"I could help too," Alison told him, hating the fact that he never included her with his plans or told her anything. "If you told me about them. I don't even know what they look like or smell like..."

"They smell _disgusting_, my dear. That is all you have to know."

"What do they look like?"

"Gigantic wolves. As large as a car," he explained, gesturing with his hands. "And their human form is typically unpleasant. To put it bluntly... They're quite ugly."

"Oh."

"You have a certain glow about you."

"What're you saying?"

"You're enamored of this woman, aren't you?" he asked knowingly. He swallowed another chunk. "Tell me, does she know about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does she know?" he asked again. And when Alison still didn't get it, he clarified. "That you're a vampire."

"I don't think so. You told me to keep that a secret."

"Is she human?"

"I believe so. She only told me about the werewolf through a legend. I don't know if she actually believes it though."

"So you're saying that she may just be a human fanatic," he remarked and Alison nodded. "Very well. Keep your vampirism a secret and get answers."

"Sir?"

"The supposed whereabouts of this creature."

"What for?"

"I want to negotiate something with this werewolf."

"What?"

"Simple territory arrangements. She has access to water. That kind of thing."

"But—"

"No buts! Go," he ordered as he pointed to the door. Alison went over to the door and hesitated, looking back at the man. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must purge my dinner."

She couldn't understand why he did that. He was a vampire like she was and he knew very well they couldn't eat human food. Yet he played pretend every night, trying to get her to play too. She shook her head as she made her silent exit into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

"Where've you been?" Arthur asked Beth as she bounded back to their secret hideaway. She transitioned to her human form and stared at him. "What, I can't ask that now?"

"Art, you're the only one that didn't leave..." Beth murmured as she brushed past him. "Everyone else did."

"Well, I trust you, Beth. I know you can get us our land back—" he stopped abruptly and sniffed the air. "You smell overly sweet and and not enough... piney. Who the hell _are_ you sleeping with?"

"I'm not sleeping with anyone," Beth answered defensively as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

"Oh please. I know how you are with those humans. They're just too irresistible to you. Face it."

"I told you, I'm not sleeping with anyone," Beth repeated.

"Well you sure are getting up close and personal..."

"I ran into someone and we got to talkin', that's all," Beth shrugged nonchalantly. She eyed the man as he smelled the air again with a critical look on his face.

"That's no sweet smell of human... That's a damn vampire," he remarked with upmost certainty as he turned to look at Beth. "I thought we agreed that we were gonna steer clear of those things."

"We did," Beth started.

"Well what happened?"

"What're you talking about?" Beth asked. "The girl I met isn't a vampire. She's too... Submissive."

"Well then she's been pretty close to one."

"Art—" Beth began with a scolding tone.

"I'm just sayin' that you should watch yourself, Beth..." Art warned. "Human or not, you can't trust everyone."

"I never said I trusted her—"

"You didn't have to," he interrupted as he turned away from her.

"I'm just getting intel, okay? Relax, Art..." she insisted.

"Mm-hm."

"I didn't tell her anything."

"Yeah okay—"

"Look, if you think shit's starting to go sideways, then you have my permission to pull me out. But until then... Leave me be. That's all I'm sayin', Art. Can ya do that for me?"

He reluctantly nodded.

"Great," Beth paused and reflected on one of Art's earlier statements. "What do you mean you know how I am with humans?"

"You can't help but play with them," he nodded. "They're irresistible to you. They're your forbidden fruit."

"I don't play with them—"

"Beth, you toy with them all the time!" he exclaimed. "Are kidding? Just the other day you were going on about some hot blonde you met at a bar—"

"So?"

"So you said you'd call her and it's been a few _weeks_. Maybe even a _month_."

"Doesn't mean I won't."

Art raised his eyebrows at the implausibility of her statement.

"Hey, you're makin' it sound like I like makin' girls cry. That's not true."

"Well you have a habit of doing so," he insisted. "Do you even know how many girls would be beatin' down your door if they even knew where to find you? You've managed to make them hate you and love you at the same time. If that's not playing then I don't know what is."

"Art, you wanna know why I do what I do?" she asked exasperatedly. "I go out and see them. They're charming. You know how it is, Art. They smile the right way or look at you like you're all they've ever wanted. You spend the night and you realize that despite everything that's happened in that one night, they're just not your type. Hell, you don't even know what attracted you to them in the first place sometimes. But you can't just be an ass, so you give 'em an empty promise and send 'em on their way."

"You're very good at distancing yourself," he remarked somberly. Beth's shoulders sagged guiltily.

"I know..." she murmured. "Kinda have to be when you're gonna live forever and your partner's not."

"What partner? The longest I've ever seen you stay with someone is three months. And that was a rocky three months, Beth."

"What're you trying to say?"

"As much as I trust you... Don't you think that maybe it's time to move on? I think it'd be good for you," Art sighed. "Meet up with more of our kind. You might find a girl in some other pack. Then you don't have to worry about the whole aging thing."

"I'm not giving our land up," Beth proclaimed adamantly as she shook her head. "No way. I'm stayin' here even if it kills me."

"And I'll stay with you," Art told her. "It was just a suggestion."

"A suggestion," Beth scoffed. "I gotta go, Art."

"C'mon, Beth. You just got back," he complained. "Where're you off to now?"

"You want the honest answer?"

He nodded.

"To go make more human girls cry," Beth stated flatly as she left the thicket. "Later loser."

Art shook his head, but let her go.

Beth jogged to the nearest bar, the one she frequented, without ever breaking a sweat. She sat herself down on a stool and ordered something random off the menu. She didn't particularly care at that point. She suddenly felt a female presence sit down next to her and she plastered a confident, inviting grin on her face as she turned to face the woman.

"Hey, cutie—" Beth stopped upon realizing that the woman was Alison. "Oh. It's just you."

"_Thanks_," Alison retorted flatly and Beth's face fell, not meaning for her statement to come across that way. "Do you always use that pickup line? It's kind of lame..."

"No, but it engages people."

"Says who?" Alison asked condescending incredulity.

"Well, we're having a conversation right now..." Beth pointed out and threw her a triumphant smirk. "So I'd say it's working out pretty well."

"You just don't know when to stop, do you?" Alison asked as she shook her head culpably.

"Nope," Beth responded proudly. "So what're you doing here?"

"Looking for someone," Alison admitted as she leaned on the counter. "You?"

"Hm," Beth smirked with amusement. "So am I."

"And how's that working out?"

"Not very well. I have a pale brunette blocking my view, but I'll manage..." Beth shrugged.

"You know, during my time here... I've heard stuff about you," Alison remarked as she began to trace random shapes on the counter in front of her.

"Yeah? What'd you hear?"

"You have a bad track record. A long track record. Would you say I'm correct?"

"I don't know. Depends on who you ask."

"Well, just about every blonde here knows you, so... I'd say that you have a thing for blondes."

Beth only smirked in response to Alison's statement.

"Am I correct with that?" Alison asked confidently. Beth only looked at her, or rather, did a sweep of her with her eyes. It was subtle, but it didn't go unnoticed by Alison. The shifter's eyes looked into each of her eyes, to her chest, then back up to her eyes. Alison smirked for reasons unknown to Beth.

"So you're doing a background check on me or somethin'?" Beth asked once she'd gotten herself to focus on Alison's face again. But her eyes betrayed her as they flicked to the vampire's grinning lips for a split second before darting back up to her inviting eyes.

"Something like that," Alison nodded. She then looked straight into Beth's eyes and jokingly asked, "You ever kill anybody?"

Beth went silent for a few seconds taking more time to answer than necessary.

"No," she lied with a sigh.

"Good to know," Alison quietly replied in a serious tone. She studied Beth and wondered if, through her sheer desperation, would be a good candidate to 'take home.' She was hot, Alison could attest to that, and she was human as far as she knew. What could go wrong? Apparently anything as she didn't have the courage to ask her impending question.

"Hey... Wanna get out of here?" Beth asked suddenly, as if she'd read Alison's mind. She wore a mischievous grin.

"No," Alison immediately responded with a taunting smile. Again, Alison noticed her eyes sweeping over areas of her body much lower than her face and secretly prided herself in hooking this catch in.

"Oh, come on..."

"Maybe some other time," Alison told her. In truth, she'd began to feel a little off. She didn't know what it was, but it didn't feel right.

"Man... You just led me on big time," Beth shook her head with a loser's smile. A smile that said, despite her calm demeanor, she was hurt. "Is this what rejection feels like? Because damn..."

Alison's teeth began to ache and she wondered if her problem was that she thirsted for blood. And sitting there with Beth and prolonging their inevitable affair would only lead to self control issues and she very well didn't want to go binge drinking every human in sight. She was still new at everything relating to her vampirism and her willpower was not at its strongest, unfortunately.

"Would it help if I confessed to you that I find you incredibly attractive?" Beth teased, inching closer to Alison. The vampire could almost feel the bold pulsing through her companion's veins.

"That's flattering, but no."

"Ali, you're lookin' a little pale there. Are you alright?" Beth worriedly asked. Alison only looked at her.

"I'm always pale."

"I mean paler than usual."

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Alison sighed, moving to get off her stool. She stumbled and Beth immediately jumped up and caught her.

"You're clearly not fine..." Beth replied, subtly sniffing the air around the woman. She was checking for alcohol and any possible drugs on her breath. She came up empty.

"L-Low blood..." Alison trailed off.

"Blood sugar?" Beth asked. Alison managed a weak nod, despite knowing it was a lie. "Come on. We gotta get you outta here."

"Beth—" Alison stopped herself and allowed the werewolf to guide her outside. Beth rolled her eyes at the cliché decision she was about to carry out, but made herself do it anyway. She hoisted Alison's legs out from underneath and carried her to the woods.

The vampire nestled her head into Beth's neck, but found it made her biting urges worse as she could hear the blood flow.

"I'm taking you home," Beth murmured gently as she walked through the fallen foliage. Alison nodded and focused herself on maintaining her control until she got home. She figured she could at least manage that. But somehow the trek seemed longer than it should've and that's when Alison figured out that they weren't going to her mansion—they were going to wherever the hell this woman lived.

She was too weak to protest and she allowed herself to be carried into an old, seemingly abandoned shack located in an area of the woods that was unfamiliar to her. She'd never even seen this part of the forest. Beth placed her gently on the couch and left to go do something—Alison didn't know what.

She heard fire crackling and a door squeaking as it opened to reveal a man. He looked just as surprised to see her as she was him.

"Hi... Sorry..." Alison apologized meekly as she stretched out a hand. "I'm Alison. Your girlfriend—"

"Beth's not my girlfriend," he clarified with a smile, but avoided shaking her hand by sticking his own in his pockets. Alison withdrew her hand and nodded. "And she already told me. Welcome."

Alison smiled gratefully, but she got a weird sense from him. He seemed stiff and overly rigid with her, as if she stank or had stabbed him with something.

"She's looking for something for you right now," Art explained as he moved toward the doorway. Before Alison could reply, he vanished and Beth came to take his place.

"Steak... That's all we got," Beth sighed, placing a plate in front of Alison. "You like yours um... extremely rare, I hope? That's all I know how to do 'cause that's how I like mine."

"It's fine," Alison told her thankfully as she began to eat and savor the taste of the blood still clinging to the slab of meat. It hadn't even crossed her mind the oddity of a supposed human liking her steaks rare. She hated to look like she hadn't eaten in weeks, but she knew she was being messy. She just happened to glance up as she finished and saw Beth wearing an amused smile. "What?"

"Oh, nothing... It's just... You have a little something there," Beth gestured to her face. "But it's no biggie. I got it."

Before the vampire knew what was happening, Beth leaned in and slowly kissed her on the mouth, lightly dragging her tongue around the hairpin curve of her bottom lip.

"T-Thanks..." Alison managed in an airy tone. Her eyes remained glued to Beth's lips; she couldn't have moved them even if she wanted to. She couldn't take the waiting so she leaned in and initiated a kiss between them.

"Gross," Art commented as he passed by, inciting an abrupt recoil from Beth. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together as she stood up and turned around to face him.

"Shut up, would ya?" Beth scolded him as she put her hands on her hips.

"Get a room," he teased as she pushed him out the door.

"Fuck you..." she mumbled lightheartedly. She turned to Alison and apologized.

"It's okay..." Alison paused before rising to her feet. "I really should get going anyway. It's late. Aldous is going to wonder where I am."

"Oh... Are you and Aldous..."

"No! No," Alison denied immediately. "He just looks after me, that's all. Like a father."

"Ah. Well, I'll walk ya home then."

"No need," Alison forced a smile and slowly made her way toward the door. "Thanks for everything though."

She was out the door before the shifter could even utter a proper response. Only seconds after, Art emerged and tapped his foot at Beth.

"Don't even start with me—" she sighed.

"Don't even start with you? You're in a relationship with a vampire! I smelled it on her!"

"We're not in a relationship—"

"Whatever it is, she's clearly a vampire."

"Aldous is the vampire. She's not. Besides, she would have little to no self-control."

"Beth, she eats her steak raw."

"So do I—"

"But she's not a werewolf so what other option is there?"

"Art—"

"And what happened to not necessarily trusting her? I find that hard to believe after seeing the both of you sucking face on the couch."

"Art..."

"You know what? Do what you want. But don't come running to me after you get screwed over in the end, alright? Don't."

Beth let out a heavy sigh before saying, "Maybe they're not all bad."

"Have you ever met a good one?"

Beth didn't have an answer.

"Exactly—"

"But we're never _going_ to find a good one if all we do is try profile them on site and look for every single bad trait that they have—_everyone_ has bad qualities, Art. _Everyone_. Does that make everyone necessarily evil? And approaching a person with a preconceived idea of what kind of person they are is only going to steer us in the same direction because we have a biased opinion in the first place."

He went silent.

"So _you_ can keep looking, but you're _never_ going to find a good one, Art. Not with a prejudice like that. But me? Maybe _I_ will. And I'll let you know as soon as I do."

"Whatever," he muttered, slamming the door behind him after he left. Beth groaned in frustration as she sank to the couch and cradled her head in her hands.

"Shit, Childs..." she whispered to herself as shook her head.

. . .

"I just think he's an _ass_, that's all."

"Cosima—" the blonde scolded. The two of them were in a cozy chair, or rather, Delphine was in a cozy chair. Cosima was sprawled out across her lap.

"No, don't you '_Co-si-ma_' me," the brunette told her, making sure to emphasize a French accent when pronouncing her own name. "Okay? He's an ass. All he wants to do is control everything and you just let him."

"He only wants the best for us, Cosima."

"Well, I'm sure he could get it through other means."

"I can see that trying to get you to see the good is nearly impossible."

"I'm sorry, what good is there to see? He slaps Alison around and yells about everything, for one thing. And—"

"Cosima, I don't want to argue about this—"

"Well I _do_," Cosima cut in. "When did we even appoint him? Did we even? I don't recall ever nominating him to, I don't know, control _every_ aspect of my life. Why don't you ask yourself these kinds of things, Delphine? What—"

Her next question was abruptly interrupted by a door opening and an unsettled Alison creeping through and looking around to see if Aldous was present.

"It's like four in the morning," Cosima told her as she looked her over. "Aldous is asleep. Where have you been all night?"

"Did you guys really wait up for me?" Alison asked, somewhat annoyed. Cosima and Delphine exchanged a glance before they both shook their heads.

"No," they answered in unison.

Alison only sighed and closed the door behind herself.

"But seriously, where've you been?" Cosima asked curiously. "You never stay out that late."

"Alison, if there is a victim, we need to know. We can help you cover it," Delphine informed her supportively.

"There's no victim," Alison told them calmly. "And just... Don't worry about it."

"Okay..." Cosima shrugged. Alison gave them a grateful smile before going to walk past them. As soon as she got within three feet of them Cosima's eyes lit up with recognition and she blurted, "Stop! Stop right there."

Alison paused immediately and looked at her with a look of paranoia.

"Turn yourself around," Cosima ordered and Alison did. "Come over to me."

Alison's head hung as she marched herself over to them and Cosima slid herself off Delphine and stood up.

"D'you kill it?" Cosima asked, taking Alison by surprise.

"I'm sorry, what? Did I kill what?" Alison inquired, not following the girl's train of thought.

"The werewolf."

"No... Why?"

"Because, darling, you reek..." Delphine responded gently as she pinched her nose and chuckled softly.

"That and I can smell animal blood on you, so..." Cosima nodded as if proving her point.

"Oh."

"So did you?"

"No, I already told you no."

"Okay! Okay. Just wondering."

"Can I ask you something?" Alison inquired the both of them. They nodded and she continued. "What exactly do werewolves smell like? Everyone says they stink, but I don't actually think they do? Is there something wrong with me?"

"We're just taught to think they smell," Cosima told her honestly. "The smell doesn't really bother me either so I never complain. But I could definitely identify it. No problem."

"She's probably right..." Delphine said through a sigh. "If anything, their smell is just strong. You'll know it when you smell it."

"Oh," Alison nodded once.

"You might wanna wash that off though before Aldous rises... Just a thought," Cosima reminded her. Alison nodded and thanked her before going upstairs to do just that.

"I'll bet you twenty bucks that she had her tongue down the wolf's throat," Cosima commented to Delphine as soon as she was sure Alison was out of earshot.

"She did not," Delphine shook her head, but smiled at the idea.

"Oh, but she totally did..." Cosima insisted, sticking out a hand to the blonde. "Delphine, she comes into the house looking like that—_smelling_ like that? What else could've possibly happened?"

Delphine stopped to think for a moment, but came up with nothing.

"Twenty bucks. Whataya say?"

"You're on," Delphine agreed, shaking her girlfriend's hand.


	3. Chapter 3

Alison wandered up and down the same street for about a half hour, unsure of exactly what she wanted to do. She really wanted to venture back into the forest, maybe see where Beth had brought her the other night or at least wait and see if she would have a wolf sighting. For all she knew, she could be freaking the poor thing out. She sighed as she stopped in front of the edge of the woods and looked up at all the tall trees towering over her petite physique. She looked around and saw no one before she charged into the unknown in search of the much sought after creature.

. . .

Beth wealked aimlessly around the forest, her usual patrol as she liked to call it. She took the time to make sure that no one had vandalized her home and picked up after the idiotic humans who left litter behind. She'd taken to chewing on an old can that's contained some kind of soup or something. She couldn't tell as it'd been laying around for quite some time as far as she could tell.

She paused and used her back leg to itch behind her ear and licked her front paw for a few seconds—no particular reason, she just did so—and returned to playfully biting the can.

The only problem with such excessive chewing was that she couldn't hear much over the sounds of her teeth scraping against metal. And so when she thought she's heard an uncharacteristic rustling of leaves, she stopped and listened.

Priorities were priorities whether or not you were a wolf. When the noise occurred again, she jumped up and backed into the bushes, waiting for the source to show itself.

Only moments later did she see a pair of women making their way through the woods. She watched a brunette and a tall blonde as they seemed to float across the ground, their eyes flitting left and right. They were clearly looking for something. Before she could help herself, she leapt from her place of hiding and snarled at them, baring her teeth and severely salivating.

Their reactions thoroughly surprised her as they simply cast their eyes upon her and looked at her as if she were the most normal thing in the world. They seemed almost indifferent in regards to her presence.

"She was right," the blonde mumbled to her companion. Beth picked up a French accent on her, despite her whispering. "The wolf _does_ roam in these woods..."

"And that means Aldous is right too..." Cosima muttered as she took in the sight of the wolf. She tsked and looked at Delphine. "We're in danger."

"We are not in danger, there is only one!" the French woman quietly argued.

"Do you know nothing about wolves? They hunt in packs."

"Darling, these are not typical wolves."

"Can't fight instinct," Cosima insisted, staring at Beth once more. The wolf had taken to calmly sitting and listening to their discussion. "Do you think it understands?"

"No," Delphine shook her head. "It would be impossible for an animal to comprehend such complex vocal noises."

"I don't know about that..." Cosima trailed off, side eying Beth and frowning. "I get the feeling she knows what we're saying."

"Now you're just being paranoid!"

"You said it yourself these _aren't_ typical wolves," Cosima argued. Delphine paused for a moment.

"You are right," she agreed finally as her eyes brightened. "She probably _can_ understand us."

If Beth could've laughed, she would've. The entire situation was ridiculous. In the amount of time their two different discussions had taken place, Beth could've taken them both by then. They didn't seem to grasp that concept. She forced the best cough a wolf could possibly utter and stared at them in silence.

"There. She settled it herself," Cosima commented. "She understands."

Beth coughed again, a strange hacking sound before she concentrated on trying to form words; it was always harder when she was in this form.

"I understand you're trespassing," her gruff voice growled at them. The gawked at her once again.

"There is no getting used to this," Cosima remarked as she squatted down to the wolf's level. It didn't really help as the wolf was then taller than her, but it hadn't been as tall as her when she'd been standing.

Delphine smiled at the creature and stuck her hand out before she introduced herself, "Delphine."

"Delphine, it can't shake your hand," Cosima told her, laughing at the gesture. Beth eyed Cosima as she dramatically stuck out her paw and placed it in the blonde's pale hand. "My bad."

"Excuse me," Beth managed before she bolted off. The two vampires exchanged a puzzled look.

"Look, you've offended her!" Delphine exclaimed.

"I didn't _offend_ her, I just didn't think they did that."

"She is part human. Being a wolf doesn't excuse manners."

"Well..."

"Well what?"

"Well I mean, she probably pees out here," Cosima reasoned. Delphine stared at the ground underneath her feet with a perturbed look. "Be realistic. I don't think there's a functioning flush toilet out here just for her."

"Cosima..." Delphine muttered. "Why? Why do you have to think of things like that?"

"I don't know. You just thought to shake a wolf's paw..."

"Well, that's differ-ent! I-It was not her... bathroom-related, um... Habits."

Just as Cosima opened her mouth, the two women heard an unfamiliar voice.

"I can hear you two still..."

They turned around to see a brunette woman standing wit her hands on her hips wearing an unamused look.

"I take it you're..." Cosima began.

"The wolf. Yeah, that's me. So what're you guys doing out here?"

"We were just leaving..." Delphine murmured apologetically as she tugged on Cosima's arm.

"Actually, we're looking for Alison... You wouldn't happen to know what happened to her, would you?"

"Haven't seen her," Beth responded robotically as she studied them, smelling them perfectly despite the distance between them. They too were vampires. She wondered what made Alison so important that they kept her human. She tilted her head. "You're not accusing me of anything, are you?"

"Should we be?" Cosima challenged, though that hadn't been the intent. She figured she'd have a little fun with this woman and hopefully get her to ease up.

"I'm in this form to be polite. You didn't have to see me... Heck, you couldn't even hear me."

"Hear you what? Chewing on a stick?" Cosima retorted. Delphine tensed up and glanced over at Beth with pure panic behind her hazel eyes.

"Nice try..." Beth smirked as she eyed Delphine's face. "It was a can."

"Okay..."

"A can _you_ left behind. Had your scent all over it."

"Bullshit," Cosima grinned at her, knowing she was telling a lie immediately. Delphine have her a warning nudge.

"Good call," Beth commended her. She sensed the blonde relax and she nodded at the both of them. "Did Alison say she was going out?"

"No," Cosima shook her head and tried not to take notice of how concerned her new acquaintance seemed. She nudged Delphine and the blonde rolled her eyes. "Why? Are you concerned?"

"Yeah. And I suggest you be too," Beth informed them. "There are a lot of creatures out here."

"Is that your way of saying you have a pack?" Delphine furtively inquired.

"No," Beth responded immediately, showing no sign of any emotion. "Is that your way of saying you have no idea if I'm a lone wolf?"

"We have our suspicions," Cosima cut in as she eyed a tree off to her left.

"As do I."

Suddenly, the three of them heard an unnatural crack of a twig underneath an unknown person's feet and they jumped into defense mode, Delphine shoving Cosima behind her and readying herself to pounce as she tensed her leg muscles and held her hands at the ready. Cosima too followed suit, once she recovered from the sudden force of the blonde's hand. Meanwhile, Beth turned her back to them and stared into darkness as she copied Delphine's stance.

In such a formation, a stranger could easily believe all three of them were on the same side, what with having each other's backs and being more worried in regards to the source of the noise rather than each other's presence.

Alison emerged in front of Beth with a guilty, but nervous expression as she hesitantly crept forward.

"Alison, you scared the shit out of us—_me_," Beth corrected herself and relaxed as soon as the sight of the familiar face registered in her mind. The other two vampires turned around and untensed as they did so.

"Sorry," the petite woman apologized. "I was looking for you."

"Me?"

"So _you're_ her mystery lover," Cosima curiously commented.

"Beth," the shifter sighed, guilty of Cosima's revelation.

"Cosima," she smiled.

"Delphine," the blonde added apologetically, recalling that she hadn't first stated her name earlier.

"I think we can skip formalities—" Alison awkwardly commented.

"Why should we?" Beth protested with insincere amiability. "Come, sit on the forest floor with me. We can trade secrets and meaningless chotchkies to symbolize our newfound friendship while we admire the incandescence of our passions and the soft glow of the moon. What's not to love? What's not to—"

"That's enough," Alison snapped and Cosima suppressed a laugh.

"What kind of chotchkies are we talkin' here?" Cosima asked, keeping Beth's joking manner. "Friendship bracelets?"

"Well why not? We've got the forest right here! Let's go gather some twine and whatnot. What's stopping us?"

"Do you realize that Aldous is not in the manor!?" Alison hissed, ending the banter once and for all and forcing a heavy silence among the group. "He could be lurking _anywhere_ and we'd have no G-D clue!"

"I wouldn't let that happen," Beth declared more passionately than she'd meant to. She straightened herself out physically and peered out at everyone else. "You guys reek to high heaven, so it'd be extremely difficult to be creeping around here."

Alison's face fell and she vainly tried to discern her own scent. She suddenly felt extremely self-conscious.

"You're no basket of fruit yourself!" Cosima teased and the comment earned her a slap on the arm from Delphine.

"It's a natural smell," Beth retorted as she sniffed the area. She didn't pick up on the old man.

"Well now that we've all met..." Alison murmured, still uncomfortable with the whole situation. "How about we all leave?"

"That sounds—"

Beth's agreeable remark was cut off abruptly as a dark figure leapt from the nearby bushes and took Alison down as it landed. Again, Delphine pushed Cosima back, this time resulting in the unsuspecting brunette falling to the ground as the blonde roughly mounted the creature, pulling at its fur and uselessly trying to pry it off Alison.

Beth couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed. A werewolf had come seemingly out of nowhere and taken Alison down. Her face contorted into a snarl as she bared her teeth and began to shift to match the assailant.

Only moments later, Beth had completely wolfed out and she bounded toward the attacker and clubbed it with her own massive paw, causing a sickening thump as it connected with its skull, before sending it flying into a nearby tree. The wolf's body made a horrifying thwack as it collided with the trunk. The wolf lie stunned for a few seconds while Delphine tried to recover from the sucker punch that the wolf had taken. She dusted herself off and went to approach it until its eyes snapped open and it gnashed its teeth at her.

The assailant slowly rose to its feet and glared menacingly at the grounded Alison before it began to prowled toward her, growling. Beth took a sturdy, defensive step over Alison, who remained on the ground in pain from the attack, and bared her teeth as she growled her own response, louder and angrier than the opposing animal. She stared the wolf down and felt the hair on her neck stand straight up. Delphine hang back yet still stood in front of Cosima and watched the two wolves glare at each other. Cosima rose slowly, not wanting to make any sudden movements and set either of the animals off, and held Delphine's hand.

"You are safe," Delphine murmured softly. "But I don't know about Alison."

"Do I get my twenty bucks now?" Cosima teased as she gestured to Beth's protective stance over Alison's body as it writhed in pain on the ground.

"Hush up," Delphine scolded her. "We have not yet proved your little tongue theory."

Cosima harrumphed and crossed her arms as she pouted.

"Take another step," Beth's raspy voice choked out as she dug her claws into the soft earth. "I _dare_ you."

The opposing wolf leaned forward as if teetering on the possibility of taking another step anyway, despite Beth's warning.

"Go ahead," Beth barked. "Take one single step and I swear to _God_ I'll rip your throat out."

"You're _disgusting_," the other spat. "Protecting a _thing_ like that."

"Don't talk about her like that," Beth roared, moving toward the threat, but still remaining over Alison. "C'mere. I'll tear you to pieces."

"Not worth my time," it huffed heavily before it began advancing toward Delphine. Beth stayed put. She wasn't going to fall for it. As soon as she moved to protect the blonde and her precious girlfriend, the unknown werewolf would surely go for Alison. Beth sat down, keeping Alison between her front paws as she watched the wolf go toward the other two vampires. "Oh. So it's only that _one_ you care about. I see. I guess you won't mind if I shred these two then?"

Beth was itching to go over there, but she couldn't let Alison be alone. Not in such a vulnerable state. She merely growled at the wolf's question and it looked back toward its targets.

"I can handle myself," Delphine told it.

"Please... I could snap you like a twig."

"You'll have to catch me first," Delphine smugly informed it. The wolf sat down and shrugged before snatching Cosima right up. "Put her down!"

"Come get her yourself," the wolf commanded, having difficulty talking with the vampire between its massive teeth. Delphine ran right over and the wolf smacked her to the ground before dropping a sticky, saliva-soaked Cosima right beside her. "Catching you wasn't all that hard."

"You monster!" Delphine screamed, trying to shake off the dizzying sting of the wolf's impact.

"No more than you—" the wolf's insult stopped as Beth's paw swiped to its throat and knocked the creature over backwards. Beth pressed her paw on its throat as she glowered at it. The two shifters morphed back to their human forms at the same time, Beth's hand wrapped around the neck of a confident brunette woman. "_Clever._"

"Not so bad yourself... Tell me, what the _hell_ are you doing here?"

"Calm down, _traitor_..." the woman answered as she dusted herself off as if she weren't being held in a chokehold. "Tell me, what're you doing protecting vampires?"

"They didn't do anything to provoke a fight," Beth admitted forcefully as she finally decided to let the woman go. "So why should I attack them?"

"Strange one, you are..."

"Thanks."

"Not a compliment..." the woman told her as if the clarification were necessary. Beth rolled her eyes.

"Look, as you can see, this land's already occupied," Beth sighed with annoyance. "This is my turf—"

"Our turf," Cosima corrected, her plural ownership referring to the vampires.

"_My_ turf," Beth reiterated through gritted teeth. "And I'd prefer it if you peacefully removed yourself from it."

"No can do," the brunette muttered. "I'm staying."

Beth chewed the inside of her cheek as she glowered at the woman out of the corner of her eyes.

"We'll talk later," Beth finally said. "So stay available."

"I look forward to that," she remarked simply before disappearing into the thicket.

"We should go," Alison suddenly remarked, practically pulling her companions along. "Thanks for everything..."

The way she delivered the last line was almost comical to Beth. It was as if they'd come for dinner and were leaving rather than enjoying their lives that could've ended only moments ago.

"Yeah," Beth called after them as she began walking in the opposite direction.

After a few moments, Beth did a 180 and began sprinting as she followed their scent. It wasn't long before she caught up with them and she snatched Alison up. The task wasn't difficult as she'd been lagging behind the other two. They hadn't even noticed her absence.

"Hey," Beth whispered, giving her a smile.

"Hey yourself?" Alison replied, not sure of what was going on. Beth became suddenly aware of the awkwardness of the situation and her confidence fell away like leaves in autumn. She looked around for help, but found none.

"I... just wanted to check and see if you were okay. It looked like you really took some damage," Beth stated.

"I-I'm fine," Alison managed to say. Beth swore she'd heard an undertone of disappointment in the woman's voice, but she figured she'd only imagined it.

"Okay," Beth nodded once. Alison looked around and the shifter felt bad for making her feel so uncomfortable.

"Can I go now?"

"Oh yeah. Yeah..." Beth nodded vigorously and made a pushing motion with the backs of her hands.

Alison turned around and after taking only a few small steps, the werewolf grabbed her hand and pulled her in smoothly before planting a kiss on her lips.

The vampire hadn't been expecting the move, clearly, but she allowed it to happen anyway as she found that she liked it—and even more surprisingly, had wanted it.

When Beth finally released her, she took a breathless step back and only stared at the shifter. Before Beth could even utter an apology, the vampire had taken off into the night.

. . .

"But like, it was so _awesome_! You can't deny _that_!" Cosima exclaimed. She'd been on a tangent about how cool it's been to see an actual werewolf as an actual wolf for about a half hour with Delphine listening intently. "Like, it was just so... so... well, _awesome_!"

"It was enlightening," Delphine responded agreeably. That was the most Cosima had gotten out of her so far.

"C'mon, that's it? '_Enlightening_?'"

"Quite a sight," Delphine tried again, though still sticking to a three-word answer.

"'Quite a sight?' _Really_, Delphine? She completely _wolfed_ out! Claws, jaws, _everything_! She—"

"Would you keep your voice down, Cosima?" Delphine hissed suddenly, interrupting the brunette.

"Aldous isn't home—"

"I don't care," she replied.

"You know who else isn't home?" Cosima grinned. "Alison. And gee, I wonder what she's up to."

"Cosima—"

"Probably up to two, right?"

"_Cosima_!" Delphine exclaimed with a louder volume this time. She shook her head at the brunette's insinuation.

"What? I'm just saying that one minute, she was right behind us and the next minute she—"

Cosima's sentence was cut off as Alison slipped through the door, trying to be silent in order to evade detection. But she came face to face with the two of them staring at her. Again. She sighed with frustration.

"Where've you been?"

"I got lost," Alison stated lamely. Cosima raised an eyebrow at her as she put her hands on her hips. Alison glanced back defensively. "What? You left me in the dust and it was dark."

"Mm-hm," Cosima remarked facetiously. "I'm gonna go get a bag... Anyone want one?"

Alison shook her head. She hated bagged blood. It just wasn't as fresh and there was always a hint of plastic. Delphine, on the other hand, nodded and mouthed a thank you before the brunette left. The blonde quickly, but silently, crossed the room and allowed Alison no personal space.

"Alison, you need to stay away from Beth," she told her in a low voice. "She is a _wolf, _remember, and I do not trust her."

"She saved me," Alison argued. "In fact, she saved you _and_ Cosima too. How can you say that?"

"How do we know she did not plan that? That could have been an ambush. There could have been other wolves out there—we don't even know!" Delphine replied shrilly, still keeping her voice quiet.

"Then I guess she changed her mind," Alison softly answered.

"Perhaps she staged it herself to gain our trust only to stab us in the back later. Or rather, stake us. In the heart," Delphine insisted. "Our hearts."

"I don't really think—"

"No, that's right. You _don't_ think," Delphine snapped, surprising even herself. "You don't think about what this could possibly do to the coven. It could lead to our downfall, Alison. You need to think about that. It could lead to our _extinction_—"

"Got the bags," Cosima announced as she walked in completely oblivious to the hanging conversation. She tossed one to Delphine, who caught it with a grave expression. "What's wrong?"

"_Rien_," Delphine murmured under her breath. Cosima looked to Alison expectantly, intending to get a better answer from her, but Alison simply stormed upstairs without another word.

"I know something's wrong," Cosima insisted, lowering her voice in case Delphine didn't want Alison to know.

"I'm just... worried about Aldous, that's all. He's not back yet. We don't know where he is," Delphine lied with an even tone. Her face gave nothing away and Cosima accepted the answer as true.

"I'm sure he's... fine. He can take care of himself."

"Cosima, you _have_ to worry about him. I know you do not like him, but you _must_ worry. You know what would happen if he died," Delphine reminded her.

"Are the consequences really all that bad?" Cosima asked, her question surprising the blonde.

"I didn't know you felt that way," Delphine huffed and made a move to leave. Cosima blocked her and gave her surrendering smile.

"Oh come on... I didn't mean it like that," Cosima started.

"And how _did_ you mean it exactly? Enlighten me because clearly I am not understanding. Mon anglais n'est pas bon aussi je le pensais—"

"I'm just sayin'... Is dying really that scary?" Cosima reasoned, though she knew she was treading on thin ice. The blonde only used French when she was experiencing the extremity of an emotion. "How long have you been alive—a good few centuries. I'm not saying I want you to kick the bucket—I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying that dying isn't the worst thing in the world."

"It is not me I worry about," Delphine responded quietly, keeping her eyes on the ground. "It is you. If I die, _you_ will die. That's it. There is no other option."

"So?"

"_So_ I have lived for centuries! You have not—"

"Maybe I don't _want_ to live for centuries. D'ya ever think about that?" Cosima hissed. Delphine looked as if she'd been slapped across the face and while Cosima regretted saying those words, she wasn't about to apologize.

"Cosima, I am going to protect Aldous whether you like it or not—whether you like _him_ or not."

"That's fine, you know, whatever. But whatever you said to Alison really upset her. I know you said something. I'm not stupid," Cosima informed her. "She's like a sister to me and if you keep upsetting her, you and I are not going to get along very well. Am I clear?"

"_Crystal_," Delphine growled before walking away.

. . .

"You like her, don't you?"

The stranger's voice came from nowhere and startled Beth, who jumped at the sound.

"Angela, I swear to God..."

"Relax! Don't be such a hardass."

"Well, you think I'm gonna be very receptive to you after that stunt you pulled back there? You coulda gotten us _killed_!" Beth shrilly shouted at her.

"Oh, please. They're no match for us."

"Angela..."

"What? You even beat me down pretty well. I still have some cuts and bruises from that. You'd think they'd be gone by now..."

Beth sighed.

"Hey, first of all, I got them to trust you. Not too shabby, eh? Now we can really move in for the kill. Second of all, how was I supposed to know you weren't in trouble? You were standing there surrounded by those... _things_. Looked like an ambush to me..."

"I had it under control," Beth huffed.

"Sure you did."

"What're you even doing here? I thought you left with the others."

"I did. But a little birdie told me we're gonna get our land back—"

"Art..." Beth murmured as the realization hit her. Angela nodded before she continued.

"So I decided to come back and see for myself. Gaining their trust, Beth—you're a genius. I honestly didn't think ya had it in you. And the others? Well, they're gonna come back too, gradually. Just you wait and see. We'll have a full pack again, Beth. It'll be great. I promise."

"So you're here to stay?" Beth clarified and Angela nodded. "Welcome back, partner."

"It's good to be back."

"Art know you're stayin'?"

"No," Angela answered simply.

"You _want_ him to know you're staying?" Beth asked, though she was sure she already knew the answer.

"No," came the expected reply. Beth nodded.

"I'll see ya. If you need anything, just holler."

"Will do."


	4. Chapter 4

"_Beth_?"

The shifter turned around to see a brunette woman wearing a huge smile on her face as she jogged toward her.

"Jennifer! Hey!" Beth exclaimed embracing her upon impact. Her face grew serious and she pulled away and studied Jennifer's face. "What're you doing here?"

"I came back!"

"Back?"

"Heck yeah! I heard people were getting back together. News travels at lightning speed," she brightly answered, paying little mind to Beth's concern. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Beth smiled.

Truth was that Jennifer would've stayed along with Art and Beth. She was more than loyal and she always put her heart and soul into everything in which she was involved. The only thing was that she was the younger sister that Beth had never had and the shifter insisted she leave to stay safe and out of the vampires' reach.

"So I'm back! What do we do now?"

Beth gave her a look.

"I mean, I'm back if you say I'm back... Am I back?" Jennifer inquired with hopeful eyes. Beth rolled her eyes and nodded as a smile spread upon her own face.

"We're not doing much as of right now. We're kind of waiting for the vampires to make a move... While they haven't struck directly, they have a very powerful member of their clan we need to be wary of in the case that they bring her into the equation—_Rachel_."

"What does she do?"

"She plays dirty. That's what she does," Beth sighed. "And often times, the rules don't apply to her."

"Why not?"

"That's an age-old question, Jen. To which I don't have an answer."

. . .

"I was out surveying the other night," Aldous told Delphine. He'd managed to get the other two vampires out of the manor by telling them they were low on blood bags and they'd believed him and went out to get more. He had the blonde alone and they could talk about things they normally wouldn't be able to with the others around.

"What did you find?"

"I found blood on the forest floor."

"A homicide?" Delphine asked as she pretended to be oblivious to what he was getting at.

"No. Blood of a werewolf."

"Oh."

"Not enough to believe the thing is dead, though."

"What do we do?"

"I don't know. I thought you people had gotten into some kind of scrap with one... or _two_," he mentioned casually. "I picked up on your guys' scent and that of two different wolves."

The blonde didn't respond.

"Delphine? How many are there?"

"I don't know."

"Delphine..."

"Two. As far as I know."

"Did you guys fight?"

"We did, but we handled it."

Delphine forced a smile on her own face and looked him in the eyes. He only stared back.

"It doesn't smell that way."

"Well, perhaps you are getting a little... old. Your sense of smell may be going—"

"Preposterous."

"I have heard of one of our kind losing a sense or two after a while," Delphine fibbed.

"Have you," he remarked, seeming to buy into the possibility.

"Sure."

"So Delphine, tell me: how is Cosima?"

"What exactly are you asking me, Aldous?"

"Have you noticed anything particularly strange about her?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, she has revealed to me that she does not fear dying... She may even welcome the possibility."

"That's not odd. We've all thought about it at one point or another," Aldous insisted. "You'd be lying to yourself if you said you didn't."

"It is strange for Cosima..."

"Perhaps you just don't know her as well as you thought," Aldous told her evenly. His expression changed as he made an unrelated remark, "I think we need another set of eyes... Retrieve _Rachel_ for me. Do it quickly and don't tell her _anything_."

Aldous waited for Delphine to hold out her hand before dropping a single key into the palm of her hand and giving her an assertive look. She stared solemnly back as he nodded at her once before leaving the manor.

The blonde walked briskly down some stairs, taking two at a time and never even bothering to turn the light on. She raced over to a door in a dark corner and silently slipped the key inside the hole and opened the door slowly, minimizing the creaking.

She found Rachel's pearly white coffin open and the inside of it seemingly disturbed.

"R—"

"Aldous needs me," the Brit stated before Delphine could even call her name. It was then the French woman noticed her. Rachel stood up straight and tall, despite being shorter than the Frenchie—and fully awake.

"So you know."

"Of course I know, Ms. Cormier. I can feel it in my _bones_," the woman remarked with a wispy tone.

"Feel what, exactly?"

"The desperation... The mutiny... I told him he couldn't handle it and I was right."

"What do you want me to do?"

"First give me that key," Rachel demanded, holding a pale hand out. "He won't be needing that."

Delphine obeyed and placed the key in Rachel's hand. The Brit curled her fingers around it as she brought it closer to herself.

"He's kept me imprisoned long enough," she growled bitterly as she crossed the room to the door, twisting and warping the key as if it were clay. "Second, get me blood. I prefer O neg. I'm parched."

"Rachel."

The Brit turned and gave Delphine a look of disinterest.

"You _will_ protect Cosima," Delphine said. It sounded more like a request than a demand, which was how she'd intended for it to sound.

"I'll see what I can do," Rachel muttered as she went upstairs, leaving Delphine in the basement.

. . .

"Cosima, I don't think this is the way to the—" Alison began.

"You know we don't _actually_ need more bags, right?" the girl interrupted Alison. "I just went in the fridge the other day for some—we had plenty."

"So why're you going into the woods when Aldous knows we've been in there?"

"Why do you?"

Alison didn't have an answer immediately.

"Curious, I guess..."

"Exactly. He doesn't tell us anything."

"So, what do we do when we run into an unfriendly werewolf?" Alison wondered aloud. Despite her suppressed feelings for Beth, she did still fear them.

"We hope that your girlfriend hears our cries for help?" Cosima smirked as they continued on.

"She's not my girlfriend," Alison promptly denied.

"Oh, no?" Cosima asked with disbelief.

"No."

"You're just friends, then."

"N-Not even that."

"M'kay..."

"W-We're not."

"Oh please. Delphine and I know you were swapping DNA the other night."

"Excuse me?"

"Swapping DNA," Cosima restated. "Sharing saliva, massaging each other's teeth with your tongues... That sorta thing."

"Uh..." Alison mumbled.

"I'm right, right?"

"No... Nothing of that nature happened."

"Mm-hm."

"Would you quit it with the sarcasm? I'm sincerely concerned for our safety right now."

"I'm sure your _not_-girlfriend can offer some kind of protection," Beth's voice commented from behind them. Alison jumped and turned around to see Beth standing with her arms crossed, staring at the both of them with an unreadable expression. Another brunette woman with curious eyes stood next to her. "Remember, ladies, the forest has ears."

"Sorry," Alison immediately apologized.

"Dude, it is so cool to see you again!" Cosima exclaimed as she walked right up to the shifter and hugged her.

The unnamed woman looked at Cosima and Beth, wondering where the supposed hostility between vampires and werewolves had gone. Beth shot a look toward Alison as if she were begging her to pry the vampire off. Soon enough, the embrace was over and the shifter relaxed a little.

"The feeling's mutual," Beth responded flatly. "What're you doing here?"

"Aldous sent us on a wild goose chase. As usual," Cosima answered with surprising candor.

"So you decided to pay me a visit," Beth realized aloud and nodded. "Alright. C'mere then, the both of you. Might as well show you my home. Not like you guys are going anywhere anytime soon from the looks of it."

They followed behind her and the stranger, glancing at each other out of the corners of their eyes. Alison felt extremely uncomfortable, especially at seeing Cosima's willingness. After about ten minutes, they reached a shack familiar to Alison. This was where Beth had brought her.

"Alright, so this is it," Beth declared as she kicked open the door and walked right in. Alison followed her and Cosima stayed outside. It took Beth a minute to realize she hadn't followed her inside.

"What's wrong with Glasses over there?" the stranger asked.

"This is Jennifer. She's a good friend of mine," Beth finally introduced them before looking over at Cosima. Alison felt herself relax. She'd been typing the girl in relation to Beth, wondering if they were together and just how compatible they were. She hadn't felt threatened as the girl wasn't blonde, but she still had her suspicions. Beth's recent statement relieved her of all curiosity.

"Haven't been invited in," Cosima reminded them almost apologetically. She eyed Alison as she realized Alison clearly already had been at some earlier time, which only supported her theory. Alison averted her eyes and disappeared further into the house to avoid looking at her or even being in her line of view.

"Come on in," Beth sighed, rolling her eyes as Cosima eagerly entered.

"Why could I come in then?" Alison questioned. "I technically hadn't been invited either..."

"I'd think me carrying you is implied consent," Beth chuckled as she ducked into the next room with Jennifer and leaving the vampires together.

"She _carried_ you in here?" Cosima whispered with growing excitement. Alison shushed her and have her a dirty look. "That's adorable."

"What's adorable?" Beth asked, poking her head in.

"Delphine," Alison blurted. She had no idea why that'd been her answer, but it was the first thing that'd popped into her mind. Beth's eyes stared into hers and she was completely unable to decode the feelings behind them. Was Beth analyzing her answer? Was she jealous? Or was that merely her incredulity toward the false statement?

Not that the comment had been entirely false in itself—Delphine was adorable. Alison knew that. Anyone in their right mind knew that. Her racing thoughts drove her crazy.

"You're right," Beth replied suddenly as she cast her eyes to the floor. "She is."

Alison and Cosima exchanged a look. Was she being sarcastic? Sincere? Either way, they found irony in that it provoked a slight sense of jealousy in the three of them, spawned from different reasons.

"You _would_ say that. She's blonde," Alison snarkily stated before she could even help it. Cosima looked at her with surprise. Beth's mouth opened to speak, but she closed it without saying a word.

"Ouch," Jennifer commented with a smirk.

"Well I mean she's not _that_ adorable, she's... she's... well, she's..." Beth struggled to find something wrong with the Frenchie, but she couldn't seem to think of anything.

"Mm-hm," Alison muttered flatly.

"She... overestimates herself," Beth forced out just to appease Alison.

"Wow. That's great," Alison commented with the same dry tone.

"Hey—c'mere," Beth told her softly before taking her hand and pulling her into the next room. She threw a look at Cosima, mentally commanding her to stay put. Beth closed the door behind them and looked Alison right in the eyes. "The thing that's wrong with Delphine is that she's not you."

Alison looked up at Beth with surprise.

"Ali..." Beth looked away and took a few steps to the side, beginning to pace back and forth. "I really like you. I do. And this is... completely terrifying for me, it really is. It's been a while since I've felt this way about someone and I... And it just really seems like a conflict of interest to be honest, but you are so worth it..."

"Beth, I—"

A sharp knock on the front door interrupted Alison's reply and Beth sensed something off.

"Door!" Jennifer called, remembering Beth's rule about her not being allowed to answer the door—especially if it was some suspicious. Beth immediately took off to answer it. Upon yanking the door open, she came face to face with an older man.

"Can I come in?" he asked. Beth took his form in, trying to make an assessment to help base her answer off of.

"Actually, I'd prefer it if you stayed out there..." Beth told him as politely as possible, recognizing him as Aldous by his voice and smell.

"I apologize for encroaching, but it seems you have something of mine."

"I haven't taken anything from you," Beth remarked with slight confusion.

"Two somethings," he clarified, clearly referring to Cosima and Alison. Beth wet her lips before clenching her jaw and swiping at him with a half-morphed hand, leaving four separate skinny paths of red across his left cheek. Beth sensed Jennifer shudder.

"If you _ever_ objectify them again—" she began. He rolled his eyes and sent a pocketknife blade through her hand that'd been carelessly resting on the doorframe. Beth cried out in pain and glowered at him.

"Beth!" Jennifer exclaimed, running over to the injured woman. Beth pushed her back with her other hand, never breaking her eye contact with the man.

"They're none of your concern. Give me back what is mine and I will be on my way," he growled. She roared with frustration and pain as she dislodged the blade and tossed it to the ground before daring to look into his eyes.

"Give you back _what_?" she spat, waiting for him to at least address them by name.

"The two women I know you brought in here," Aldous stated evenly. "Cosima and Alison."

"How very kind of you to change your perspective," Beth told him through gritted teeth. "However I don't have them."

"Don't lie to me. Do you take me for a fool?"

"Yeah, _actually_."

Beth allowed a malicious grin to take over her face as her eyes glinted with hatred.

"Don't make me get Rachel," he warned with a blank expression. "She won't be as kind."

"As long as she's uninvited, she's as powerless as you."

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" he grinned. "Alison. Cosima. We're leaving."

The two came out of their hiding places and guiltily exited, gently pushing past Beth.

"If you _ever_ lie to me again," he started at Beth. "You'll be sorry."

He turned to leave with the other two vampires in tow.

"Hey, Aldous!" Beth shouted after him as she picked up the pocketknife. He turned slightly and she whipped it at him, landing it about an inch from where his heart lie. He jerked upon the impact and watched some blood seep out before scowling back at the shifter, who slammed the door shut.

"This is why we don't mess with werewolves," he told them calmly, yanking the blade out of his body. "At least not until we're ready."

He paused and cleaned the blade off with his mouth before pocketing it once more.

"They're barbaric and they fight dirty. And they need to be put down."

"Who's this Rachel chick?" Cosima asked, ignoring his prejudiced comments.

"You'll meet her," he promised. "When it's time."

. . .

"There are many things that you don't know about Aldous," Rachel told Delphine as she raised the wineglass to her mouth. The French woman watched the thick red liquid make its way to the Brit's lips. "And many of those things are not things you wish to know."

"Did he make you?"

Rachel didn't respond, she simply stared at Delphine with a strange expression.

"He made you, didn't he?" Rachel finally asked, eyeing Delphine further.

"Yes."

"You don't seem to have any defects..." Rachel trailed off as she studied Delphine out of the corners of her eyes. "That's good."

"Defects?"

"Aldous has a history of... _birthing_ imperfection."

"I was not aware."

"Of course you weren't. Why would he tell you that?"

"Why does he keep you locked up?"

"It's simple. If I am away, he controls everything. When I am here, he holds nothing."

"Is he afraid of you?"

"Aren't you?"

Delphine didn't have an answer. She knew absolutely nothing about the blonde woman sitting before her, yet the woman seemed to have a frigid, angry essence. She was indeed threatening in her own way.

The two women sat in silence until the others came home. The Frenchie rose to her feet and her eyes grew with surprise at the sight of an injured Aldous. Her eyes went to the two very guilty-looking vampires behind him and she scanned Cosima's body for any possible wounds and found none.

"Rachel. You're awake—" Aldous began.

"_Sit_," she commanded. He rushed over to the chair in which Delphine had sat in and placed himself in it. Rachel's face took on a look of annoyance as she asked, "What happened now?"

"These two were in the woods," he breathlessly explained. "Socializing with werewolves."

"Is that true?" Rachel inquired. Alison nodded, but Cosima didn't move. She already didn't like this 'Rachel chick.' "Aldous, I want you to fast. Do not feed for a month. Perhaps then you'll straighten out."

He nodded and hung his head.

"As for the others—Alison, Cosima, Delphine. I'm going to need the three of you to run some errands."

Alison and Delphine nodded, but Cosima still refused to acknowledge the shift of power.

"Is that a silent _no_ from you, Cosima?" Rachel asked tonelessly, rising to her feet and giving the rebellious vampire a death glare. Rachel sighed before grabbing the brunette's throat with lightning speed and pushing her against the nearby wall. "You _will_ obey me—if you want to live."

Cosima remained silent and Rachel snatched the glasses from her face.

"You _disgust_ me," she spat, throwing the glasses to the floor and stepping on them. The glass shattered and crunched underneath her foot. "Perhaps if you can't see, you won't be so bold."

The Brit released Cosima from her grip and kicked the pieces around the floor, scattering them.

"Clean it up," she ordered no one in particular. "I want every last shard _gone_."

. . .

"Beth, how'd this happen?" Art asked gently as he bandaged her hand. Beth looked away, embarrassed to need help. "_Beth_...?"

"I don't know," Beth mumbled. "I'm a klutz, what can I say?"

She didn't want to make him worry.

"A klutz accidentally cuts herself. This is a through-and-through stab wound."

"Aldous stopped by today," Jennifer blurted, though she knew it would annoy Beth. However the shifter surprisingly remained quiet.

"That old crow's still kickin'?" Art asked with disbelief. "Jesus."

"Yeah. And he's awakened Rachel—" Jennifer began.

"He's serious, Art..." Beth murmured, interrupting Jennifer. She figured if the girl was going to spill everything, he might as well hear it from her. "And there's only fo—three of us."

"I'm trying to rile the others... I swore I had Ang the other day. Guess I didn't."

"She'll come around," Beth assured him.

"Maybe," Art paused. "I'm worried about you, Beth."

"Why?"

"You've been... _smiling_ a lot lately. You hit your head or something?"

Beth pushed him playfully and said, "Shut up."

"I still don't trust her, you know..." he said, growing serious.

"Trust who?" Jennifer wondered aloud.

"I know."

The younger shifter gave up, figuring they weren't going to tell her.

"Just don't get hurt, alright? I don't want to see you break and have to pick up all the pieces. You don't deserve that, Beth. You never did. You gotta stop punishing yourself."

"I trust her, Art. I don't know why, but I do. I think she could be the one," Beth responded sheepishly.

"The One? Oh God, you've got it bad..." he commented as he shook his head.

"No, I mean the one vampire we find that may be good. She may be who we've been looking for all this time."

"Who you've been looking for," Art corrected her, changing the meaning. He could feel himself soften. "If you trust her, so will I."

"Thanks, Art."

. . .

"You missed a spot," Rachel called down to Cosima, who'd been furiously polishing the shoes on her feet for about a half hour.

"Well, it's kinda hard to properly polish shoes when you can't see for shit," Cosima retorted. Rachel sighed and lifted her wineglass.

"I have something else for you to do, for that comment."

Cosima looked up just as Rachel released the glass and let it drop to the floor, shattering upon impact. Out of the corner of her eye, the Brit saw Delphine flinch, even though she hadn't seen what happened. The Frenchie knew anytime glass was shattering, Rachel was dishing out a punishment. She truly could tell whether or not every last shard was picked up. The French woman couldn't tell how she did it, but she did. Rachel always managed to find a piece missed. This was Cosima's fourth punishment in the past hour.

"Sorry," Cosima sharply apologized as she got to picking up the glass pieces.

"Good girl," Rachel cooed condescendingly as she got up and left. "Ms. Cormier, I need you to come with me."

The French woman jumped up and immediately went over to Rachel. The Brit eyed the door and Delphine closed it.

"I need you to get your girlfriend under control, Ms. Cormier. She's proven to be quite the _impediment_. I run a tight ship and I don't have time to babysit and discipline. If she doesn't get her act together..." Rachel trailed off and made a cutting motion in front of her throat with her index finger.

"Yes, Rachel."

"Aldous has let everything go," Rachel fumed with an even tone. "It's as if he has no morals..."

Delphine looked around, unsure of her role at that point in the conversation. It felt as if Rachel were talking to herself more than she was talking to Delphine.

"Ms. Cormier, I want some information. I already know how your girlfriend has turned out—unfortunate, really—but how is Alison?"

"Subservient."

"Perfect," Rachel paused. "I do have one other question though."

Delphine waited in silence.

"Why does everyone _reek_ of lycanthropes? Even you?"

"We had an encounter with two of them."

"An encounter? Was it friendly? Hostile?"

"Both."

"Both? It cannot be both."

"But it was. We encountered one and another attacked. The first one saved us, Rachel."

"Sounds like a dirty trick if you ask me," Rachel commented as she tapped a finger on the side of her face, deep in concentration.

"If it was, they put on quite the show."

"Hm... It seems you trust them."

"On the contrary, I suggested the same possibility as you just did," Delphine informed her.

"Just get Cosima under control. I'd hate for us to lose that brain of hers."


	5. Chapter 5

"So, what's happened between your departure and return?" Beth asked as she went to sit down next to Jennifer.

"Well, I met a guy," Jennifer answered, her tone making it sound like a confession. "He made good company."

"So why do you sound so guilty?" Beth asked.

"He's _human_," Jennifer admitted after a moment of silence, pressing her lips together.

"_Oh_," Beth nodded once, understanding the complexity of the situation. She'd been there countless times herself.

"Yeah," Jennifer paused before cringing as she let the rest if the confession slip. "...And I told him about me. What I am."

Beth let Jennifer's words process and her expression conveyed her disapproval.

"I'm sorry—"

"I'm not mad... I've fallen for plenty of humans, but I'd only ever told one my secret," Beth swallowed hard at the memory. "As she was dying. In my arms."

"Beth, you never told me this..."

"I didn't want to. I felt foolish. And besides, I didn't want to bring you down. Jen, it was something I had to deal with myself, that's all. Nothing personal."

Jennifer nodded silently.

"What'd he say?"

"He called me a lunatic," Jennifer forced a laugh. "Which is ironic. _Luna_-tic. 'Luna,' like the moon."

Beth didn't say anything.

"'Luna' is a Latin word," Jennifer continued, showcasing her intelligence that Beth knew so well. "For 'moon,' of course. That's where 'lunatic' comes from. People believed that the moon influenced one's insanity."

"I'm sorry that happened to you—" Beth began, ready for Jennifer to begin crying.

"And six days later, he came to me and said that he cared too much about me to let me go and apologized for calling me that," Jennifer told her with a smile. "He— He said he believed me."

"O-Oh. Well, that was a twist..." Beth stammered, suddenly overcome with jealousy of Jennifer's good fortune.

"Yeah," she grinned and her smile took all of Beth's envy away. She'd missed that innocent, bright-eyed smile. "So what's happened with you?"

"I also met somebody," Beth allowed a small smile to creep onto her own face. "It's Alison, by the way, one of the women you met the other day."

"Oh, the vampire?"

Beth winced.

"I wouldn't exactly call her a _vampire_..." she trailed off. Was she just lying to herself or was she sincerely confused about Alison's living situations? "I mean, I thought she's a human living with vampires."

"What gives you that impression?"

"She just seems so... naïve and servile."

"M'kay..." Jennifer stated slowly. Beth was totally in denial. But she wasn't going to be the one to break the obvious news to her. She hated to bring up old drama, but she was just too curious. "What happened with that one girl?"

"I loved her... I think," Beth told her solemnly. Jennifer had never seen such seriousness before. "It was difficult, though. I was always brooding over the fact that if I ever tied myself to her, you know, settled down with her... One of three things would happen."

"What?"

"I'd eventually have to leave. She'd grow old and I'd have no explanation for myself. And if we had any kids—I don't even know if I was even considering that, but if we did—they'd hate me for it," Beth listed. "Or I could tell her and she could completely reject me and try to get me committed to a hospital. Or she could accept me and inevitably die before me along with the hypothetical children—all of them die before me. And I'd have to live with the fact."

"Oh," Jennifer responded quietly. "So what do you plan on doing with Alison then, if she is human like you say?"

"I don't know," Beth sighed with evident frustration. "I don't know."

A pause.

"I was trying to take it slow and you know, possibly distance myself—"

"Beth, don't do that..." Jennifer gently chastised her.

"—but she just makes it so God damn fucking hard," Beth forcedly confessed, throwing her hands up in the air. "And I don't even know why she's so... magnetic to me."

"Beth, it's okay."

"It's not okay... I wish I could remember..."

"Remember what?"

"That day," Beth went on. "You wanna know what I have against Aldous?"

Jennifer waited patiently.

"He _took_ her," Beth gravely informed her. "Adelina. He murdered her ruthlessly right in front of me. And she died there while I held her as she endured her last moments. With her dying breath, she told me that we'd see each other again. And that's when I told her what I was. I told her to hold on for me, because I couldn't follow her where she was going and because I couldn't bare her premature absence from my life. And so she promised me that she'd hold on... But of course, she didn't. I mean, she couldn't. What isn't fair is that... her last moments were pure suffering. Those images are the last I have of her in this dumb brain of mine... And they haunt me."

. . .

"Cosima, my blood please," Rachel casually commanded, holding out her hand in anticipation for a wineglass to be placed in it. Within a few seconds, Cosima picked up the glass and placed it gently in the Brit's hand with impressive precision. "Thank you."

Cosima stared dumbly at Rachel for a few moments before turning and going to the couch lying down, resting her head in Delphine's lap.

"You are doing well," Delphine murmured comfortingly as she stroked her dreadlocks. "And in other news, I have something for you."

Delphine reached into her bra, smirking as she pulled out a crisply folded twenty-dollar bill and handed it to Cosima.

"Man..." Cosima whispered. "Should I spend this, save this, or bury my face in it?"

"Why would you bury your face in that when you can bury your face in me?" Delphine flirted and Cosima sat up. Delphine looked at her for a few moments before leaning in and tenderly kissing her.

"I hate Rachel..." Cosima mumbled into Delphine's mouth. The blonde took in Cosima's words. They were sad and broken.

"I know..." Delphine breathed back before slipping her tongue in Cosima's mouth.

"Do you mind? I can hear the smacking," Rachel grouched, crossing her legs and staring out the window in the opposite direction. Delphine pulled away from Cosima and they sat side by side in silence for a few minutes.

"Delphine—" Cosima started.

"Upstairs," Delphine whisper-blurted. "_Now_."

. . .

"So where's this human boy of yours?" Beth asked. She paused. "Not really 'boy'... Man. Where's this man of yours? I'm sorry, I keep thinking of you as a kid."

"Well, I was a kid when I left..."

"True. So which one is he?"

Beth and Jennifer were sitting on a bench and watching a bunch of humans playing various sports at the town recreational park. Jennifer had brought Beth there to show her the man she'd been talking about and the older shifter scanned the field.

"What's his name?" Beth asked as Jennifer pointed him out.

"Greg," she sighed, leaning back.

"Hm. Least he has a decent name," Beth teased. When Jennifer didn't answer she turned her head and saw a look of startled panic behind her eyes. "What? What is it?"

"I think he saw us," Jennifer whispered, jumping to her feet and pulling Beth up with her. "Let's go."

"What? Why?"

"Let's. _Go_," Jennifer urged, turning the both of them around and hoofing it to get away.

"Are you embarrassed of me?" Beth joked.

"Jen, is that you?"

Beth heard the man call. She could hear him jogging toward them.

"Jen! Jen, wait!"

Beth's companion cringed before stopping and turning around. She couldn't very well ignore him after that. Beth suppressed a smile and laid eyes on Greg.

"Hey," he greeted Jennifer breathlessly. He looked at her for a few seconds before moving his eyes onto Beth. "Hi."

"Hi," Beth nodded at him.

"Greg, uh, this's my sister..." Jennifer introduced them. She turned to Beth. "This is Greg."

"Hi, Greg. Elizabeth. Pleased to meet you," Beth stretched out her hand and offered a smile as he shook it.

"It's a pleasure," he responded before shifting his gaze back to Jennifer, who was watching the both of them interact. Even with the mutually cordial greetings, she still felt awkward.

"I forgot something. In the car," she fibbed, shooting a look at Beth to tell her not to expose her lie—they hadn't even brought a car. "I'm just gonna go get it and I'll be right back."

She jogged away, trying to calm herself down and hoped that leaving the two of them together would be okay.

"So, you coach?" Beth inquired, beginning her covert interrogation of Greg.

"Yeah," he nodded, keeping his answer short. "What do you do?"

"I'm a detective..." Beth told him with a hint of uncertainty. She wasn't sure why she'd said that. Maybe she'd been a detective before the bite. Maybe this was residual memory. Ever since that bite, her past life was hazy at times and difficult to recall.

"A detective," he remarked, mulling it over. "Interesting."

"Yep."

Beth studied his features and could tell he was restraining a burning question on his mind. And knowing humans, the urge often turned out to be stronger than they were. Beth's assumption proved to be correct as he opened his mouth to ask.

"I'm sorry if this sounds crazy, but are you...?" he trailed off as his eyes narrowed. Beth stared at him, forcing him to finish his question. "I mean, I apologize if this is too forward, but are you a—"

He paused to lower his volume.

"—_werewolf_ too?"

"Are you some weirdo _lunatic_?" Beth asked him, squinting her eyes and gawking at him as if he had three heads. "What, do you believe in _aliens_ too? Where the _hell_ did you get the idea that _werewolves_ existed? You've been seeing too many movies, buster."

His face fell and she could tell he immediately felt stupid for asking.

"Hey, hey, hey..." she stated soothingly, giving him a playful push. "I was joking. I'm totally a werewolf."

"Really?" he asked as his eyes lit up. Beth nodded.

"Really," she replied. "When you're trapped in a world of normal, you learn to flock to the outcasts such as yourself."

"I guess that makes sense," he commented.

"Mm. Works for different human social groups as well," Beth added as she felt a sense of relief wash over her as she watched Jennifer finally return.

"I guess I must've left it—"

"—in your other car?" Greg guessed with a knowing smirk. "Which is probably sitting idle _at home_."

"Okay, you got me..." Jennifer admitted with a grin. It was then that Beth decided she liked Greg. He seemed like a decent fellow; patient and kind.

"I never got to ask—So what brought you here today? Did you want to get together later or something?"

"Uh..." Jennifer eyes went to Beth, who nodded her approval. "Sure, that'd be great."

"Alright. I'll swing by after practice then?"

"Um... Greg... I've moved," Jennifer told him. She'd left her apartment in anticipation of joining Beth again. She didn't want to reveal their location if Beth didn't want her to.

"Oh."

"Yeah, but she'll call you and give you directions," Beth jumped in.

"Oh. Okay," he brightened. "See ya later, Jen?"

"Bye," Jen kissed him quickly before taking a step back and letting him go.

"Wow, you two are _nauseating_," Beth teased as they began to walk again.

"Shut up..."

. . .

Rachel crossed her legs and shifted uncomfortably as the muffled moaning started again. She'd been trying to concentrate, maybe read a newspaper, but Cosima and Delphine had been at it for what felt like three hours—but had probably been only a half hour or so—upstairs and we're not making any effort to make themselves less noticeable. Rachel could picture in her head exactly what they were doing—not that she'd want to.

Between the rhythmic thumping and slurred French, the Brit could distinguish from whom each of the sounds originated. She chewed the inside of her blood-red lip and glowered at the ceiling above her.

She uncrossed her legs before immediately recrossing them with her left leg on top this time. There was no way they were turning her on. No way. She clenched her teeth together and stared at the door, hoping for someone to come through it.

"Rachel, pull yourself together..." she muttered just as the front door swung open.

"Rachel—"

"Let's go out," Rachel immediately suggested, jumping to her feet and smoothing her dress out. She looked up and saw Aldous standing in the doorway, completely confused by her eagerness.

"Rachel, it's three o'clock in the afternoon. You'll be singed."

"You went out."

"In the woods. Sunlight doesn't penetrate through the trees, remember? That's why we want that area back. So we can be out and about more."

"What's a little sunburn?" Rachel asked, her question soon followed by a loud thump from above. Aldous finally realized that they weren't the only two home.

"Who's up there?" he asked, clearly concerned about the possibility of an intruder. "Maybe we should check it out—"

"No! No," Rachel repeated herself a second time as she evened her tone out. "We should just go for a walk. Like I said. What's a little sunburn?"

"Rachel, you're _crazy_. I'm not going back out. It was hell enough sprinting over here in the sun. I'm not doing that to myself again. I'd rather swallow a crucifix."

Rachel sighed and sat back down as she crossed her arms. After a few moments of silence, she realized the two lovebirds upstairs must've been done. She forced a smile and turned back to her newspaper.

"Aldous, you've just proven something to me. Something I've been sure of for a while," she told him without ever looking back up.

"What's that?"

"You're not thinking clearly," she stated smugly. "You've just admitted to running around outside in pure sunlight for who knows what reason."

"Excuse me—"

"Aldous, it seems you're no longer fit to lead this coven... I suggest you step down lest you force my hand."

"Rachel, you can't—"

"I can and I did," she snapped. She paused and smiled cruelly. "Have you been fasting?"

He nodded.

"Good," she remarked, taking the purposely weakened vampire and dragging him to the basement. "Good news. I've found my replacement."

She dragged him roughly down the stairs, never bothering to turn the light on and threw him into the room in which she'd previously been locked.

"Aldous, I have a joke for you: a man calls a woman crazy. Here's the funny part and you can laugh about it while you're down here: _he's_ the one being locked up," Rachel told him stoically. "And don't even bother trying to pick _that_ old lock... I've changed it to something more... _sophisticated_."

And with that, Rachel slammed the door shut and hunched over slightly to allow a small green beam of light to scan her left iris, sealing Aldous in. She smiled, pleased with herself, and calmly made her way back up the stairs, strutting as if she were doing a fashion walk. She came face to face with Alison.

"What were you doing?" she inquired, trying to see past the blonde. Rachel put her hands on her hips.

"I hardly think that's your business."

"Aldous is missing, I think..." Alison trailed off as her brain began to put two and two together.

"Is he now?" Rachel asked, feigning interest as she closed and locked the door behind herself. "That's a shame."

Alison looked at her once more before bolting out the door.

. . .

"Beth, you're back. You've got _impeccable_ timing—you have a visitor," Art commented as soon as Beth came through the door. Her eyes fell immediately on Alison, who wore a petrified expression. Beth opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Ali, now's not really the best time—" Beth finally said once she'd found her voice.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just... Something has happened at the manor—"Alison stood up as she continued on her single-breath rant. "—and I'm just so scared and—and I just needed to see you and have you—"

Alison stopped as Jennifer walked in with a man following behind her. Beth pressed her lips together and nodded before turning to the couple and introducing them to Alison.

"Greg, this is... _Alison_. Jennifer, you've already been acquainted, so..." Beth paused. "She's a... _friend_. Of mine."

"Charmed," Greg smiled pleasantly at Alison, who showed no reaction.

"Beth... I need you," Alison shamefully pleaded in front of her new acquaintance.

**. . . . . . . . . .**

"I _need_ you. Please..." Beth hoarsely begged the bleeding woman, cradling her tightly. "Don't go."

"Beth, it seems my time has come..." the woman whispered almost inaudibly, even to the shifter's heightened hearing. Her brown eyes were already starting to gloss over; Beth could see it.

"No—"

"Please don't argue with me. I don't have the time or the energy..."

Beth blinked and her tears dotting the woman's clothes. The clothing moved with every irregular breath she took.

"We'll see each other. I'll wait for you everyday until then," she stated seriously. "Promise me, Beth?"

"Lina..." Beth breathed with anguish. "As much as I'd love to, I can't make you that promise."

"What?"

"There's something I have to tell you. I've been meaning to tell you for a long time, but I was too afraid."

"Do you have syphilis?" the woman rasped.

Beth forced a laugh, despite the dire situation. She always did have a sense of humor.

"No—"

"Then I don't care."

"But you will," Beth insisted gently. She then told the woman about herself; the part she'd been hiding for so long. She told her her story and the woman listened intently.

"So you're half wolf," she murmured, processing the new information. "Does that count as bestiality?"

Beth shook her head, never taking her eyes off the brunette's face.

"Then like I said before... I don't care."

Beth leaned over her and have her a slow kiss, relishing the taste of her and her warmth and how she felt against her body.

"I love you."

"Don't say that like it's goodbye..." the woman told her. "I'll always be with you."

"I love you," Beth repeated. The woman managed a smile just as her eyes closed and her body went limp. "I love you, I love you, I love you..."

The shifter repeated it for hours and hours after.

"I _love_ you."

. . .

"Okay," Beth whispered brokenly, walking over to her. "We'll talk."

Alison nodded once before retreating to the kitchen with Beth in tow, leaving the three others in the living room.

"I-I think Rachel killed Aldous," Alison stammered. Beth stared at Alison, unable to share her grief. If anything, she found a little joy in the news. "Beth, why aren't you saying anything?"

"I don't know what you want me to say," Beth murmured, making her tone gentle so it wouldn't offend Alison.

"Say _something_."

"Well, if she did... All of his creations would be dead," Beth told her slowly, watching her reaction. "You kill their maker, you kill its spawn. Kind of. They'd be transformed back to their human bodies... But most don't survive that transformation from what I've heard."

"So I'd be dead..." Alison thought aloud, her statement causing Beth's heart to stop. Alison was one of his. One. Of. His. One of his. She became the one thing that impeded Beth's life mission to kill the bastard. This was all too much for the shifter. Her head spun and her heart pounded as her palms grew sweaty. Her entire body felt as if it'd been filled with lead.

"Get out," Beth managed to choke out, pointing to the door.

"Beth, what's wrong?"

"Ali, I want you out. Get. Out," Beth growled hoarsely, jabbing her finger at the door. "Get _OUT!_"

Jennifer, Greg, and Art all turned their heads and watched Alison trudge out of the kitchen with her shoulders sagging. She slunk to the front door, offered an awkward and unconfident goodbye, and closed the door firmly behind herself. Art raced to the kitchen and saw Beth leaning onto a chair for support, breathless.

"Beth, what's wrong? Did she hurt you?" Art asked worriedly, rushing to her aid.

"I... just need some time..." Beth managed to breathe as she dropped into the chair. "And space. Give me that."

"Alright... I can tell Greg to leave..."

"N-No, let him stay. I'm just... ill."


	6. Chapter 6

"What's wrong with you?" Cosima asked as soon as Alison walked into the bedroom. The entering vampire jumped and cringed at the sight of Delphine and the brunette cuddling together, knowing what they'd most likely been up to prior to her arrival.

"Jesus Murphy!" Alison exclaimed.

"Shhh! Delphine's drifting off to dreamland," Cosima smirked, rubbing the blonde's shoulder lightly. The French woman sighed contentedly, seemingly unaware of Alison's presence. "And you never answered my question. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Alison muttered turning back around toward the closet. She opened it and began rummaging through it, not really looking for anything in particular, just something to do.

"Can I help you with something?" Cosima offered politely. She stood up and slipped a t-shirt and underwear on before approaching Alison. She really didn't care if Alison saw her naked, but she knew Alison cared.

"I—" Alison stopped at seeing what Cosima was wearing, or rather, wasn't wearing before turning back and blushing as she sifted through things with a greater speed than before. "It's nothing."

"It... doesn't _seem_ like nothing," Cosima responded slowly, eying the vampire and subtly sniffing the air. "I'd say something smells fishy, but in actuality it just smells wolfy. What'd Beth do now?"

"Nothing."

"Ali..."

"_Nothing_," she insisted. She paused before awkwardly requesting, "Don't call me that."

"Ah, so it was her. See? I knew it," Cosima remarked as she went over to the lightly sleeping Delphine. She swatted the blonde's ass and said, "Get up."

"_Mm_..." Delphine grunted her reply. Cosima leaned over her and kissed her on the cheek.

"C'mon. Ali's upset and we've got to get to the bottom of this."

"Why don't you just do it?" she grumbled sleepily, never opening her eyes. "I know how well you like getting to the bottom..."

Cosima chuckled, unsure if the incomplete sentence was intentional or just a result of her falling back to sleep.

"Delphine, Ali's in here with us right now. She heard that."

The French woman's eyes snapped open, seemingly wider than normal and they found Alison immediately, who stood blushing madly in front of the closet.

"Oh, uh, _come_. I mean... Uh, yes. Come. Uh... Sit. Come _sit,_" Delphine struggled. Between her tired brain and grogginess, she didn't want any strange innuendos meant for Cosima's ears only to slip. One had already managed to escape it seemed. Possibly two. Cosima laughed and shook her head as she pulled Alison over to the bed.

"Let's have a _threeway_," Cosima stated, her eyes darting to Delphine, who immediately looked away. "Not a _threesome_, Delphine. A threeway. _Conversation_."

The blonde blushed at her error and kept her eyes down as Alison joined them. Delphine pulled the sheets up to her chin as she sat up.

"So what'd that asshole do?" Cosima asked again.

"She's not an asshole... I-I think it was something _I_ did," Alison admitted. "She told me to get out. I mean, she wouldn't do that unprovoked, right? I must've done something."

"She told you to get out without a reason or explanation?" Cosima repeated to make sure she was understanding Alison correctly. "Um, _asshole_!"

"Wait, wait, wait, Cosima..." Delphine rubbed her eyes and finally looked at Alison. "What were you two talking about before her outburst happened?"

"I-I think Rachel killed Aldous," Alison confessed as she dropped her volume.

"Whoa, what? No way!" Cosima exclaimed as her own voice quieted too.

"Yeah. I came home and looked for Aldous and he was gone. Rachel was coming up from the basement and she locked it as soon as I mentioned him. She has the only key it seems."

"That's so sketchy..." Cosima agreed.

"Guys..." Delphine trailed off. "I have something to tell you. In the basement, there is—"

"Wait, let Ali finish."

"Stop calling me that," Alison passively injected into the conversation. "But anyway, I told Beth—"

"You told a _werewolf_ one of our leaders is dead?" Delphine asked shrilly, clearly conveying her incredulity.

"I said might be—"

"Alison, why—"

"Shhh!" Cosima shushed her and made a motion for Alison to continue.

"And she said that if he were, all his creations would most likely be dead."

"She knows more than I thought..." Delphine murmured inaudibly.

"So I said—and I quote, 'So I'd be dead...' And then she had this look of sudden realization and that was before she blew up at yelled at me to get out," Alison informed them with tears prickling at her eyes.

"Whoa, that's weird..." Cosima commented, thinking of all the possibilities of why someone would react like that.

"She lost a lover a few years ago," Delphine offered the tidbit as she hid what she'd discerned as the reason behind Beth's explosive reaction. It was all so clear to her. If Alison had been created by Aldous and Beth really did love her, then the wolf wouldn't dare kill him, ensuring the safety of Delphine and thus solidifying Cosima's security. "Perhaps Alison's statement came across as insensitive."

"I didn't _know_..." Alison remarked with conviction.

"Just talk it out with her," Delphine suggested more forcefully than she'd intended. "Maybe. I think that would be best."

"Or you know, just punch her in the face," Cosima stated, seeming to crush Delphine's peaceful and covertly tactical approach. "Like, don't let her talk to you like that."

"Mm, don't do that, Alison. That's not you. Don't do that. Just talk it out with her. You can get ahold of her, I'm sure. Just don't do _that_."

"I don't know what to do..."

"Not that," Delphine insisted. Cosima shot her a look.

"You, missy, need to be quiet," Cosima smirked as she leaned over and kissed her in an effort to silence the blonde.

"My lips are sealed," Delphine promised with a smile.

. . .

"She hasn't even come out to eat," Jennifer whispered to Art as he approached Beth's door. His shoulders sagged in response to the update, despite it being the same as it was every other hour he'd checked prior.

"What the hell did Alison do to her?" he demanded to know.

"I don't know. I heard as much as you did," Jennifer told him. She turned to face the door and knocked lightly. "Beth, please come out."

"No," came a muffled reply.

"Beth, come on out. I could break down this door if I really wanted," Art warned her. Jennifer shot him a warning look as she sat back down on the floor.

"Go ahead," Beth challenged, knowing that he wouldn't. He sighed in resignation and skulked away. Jennifer waited until he was gone before slowly turning the doorknob and opening the door.

"Beth?" she whispered. She eyed the lump under the sheets on the bed. "I'm coming in."

"Jen, I don't want you to see me like this."

"What'd she do, Beth?" Jennifer asked gently, rubbing Beth's shoulder.

"She's one of his... One of Aldous'," Beth explained. "I can't kill him unless I want her to go with him."

"Beth, you can still love her."

"I can't."

"But you do," Jennifer assured her. "You know, maybe you can't feel it right now. That's fine. You're hurting. But you love her. Beth, I've never seen you so full of love. You radiate its warmth when you're around her. You smile. You laugh. You joke around. You're Beth with her. You love her. You can't deny it."

"I can and I _will_," Beth grouched.

"For now."

"Forever," Beth spat through gritted teeth.

"Forever is a long time..."

"You're telling me."

"Especially to be alone. Beth, you've loved before. I get that. You loved Adelina. You did. I could see it in your eyes when you told me about her. And I hate to be so brash, but... she's dead," Jennifer gently reminded her. "You have to let her rest in peace, Beth. You have to let her go."

Beth swallowed hard and looked away, gaining a sudden interest in the off-white wall in her line of vision.

"Life screwed you over with Adelina," Jennifer continued. "It gave you a mortal in your immortality and laughed. Cruelly, to say the least. But it's giving you Alison now. She's a vampire. Okay. But she, too, is immortal. Just like you. How can you not help but wonder... If maybe if you gave her a chance, things would work out."

"They're not gonna work, Jen. I know how this goes. It never works out. Not for me."

"Beth, I hate to do this..." Jennifer warned. She stood up and pulled on Beth's arm. "But get up. Get up off your _pathetic_ ass and go. _Leave_."

"Excuse me?"

"_Leave_," Jennifer repeated with a viciousness Beth had never seen in her. "And don't come back until you've worked it out with Alison."

"Jen, don't be ridiculous—"

"At least talk to her. I'm not saying stay together because clearly you could care less about that," Jennifer remarked, watching Beth's face for any protest to that statement and found a hint of one. She knew Beth still cared. "But get up. And go. Talk. Poor girl probably doesn't even know what she did."

. . .

Beth kicked a rock as she hesitantly walked along the path toward the vampires' manor. She didn't really want to go, and actuality she was dragging her feet—quite literally too—but she knew Jennifer was right.

Upon her arrival, she picked up the rock should formed a bond with and in the mindset of a certain Montague, tossed it at Alison's window. She assumed it was Alison's window anyway, because she could see the back of the brunette's head. The hair was not in dreads and it wasn't wavy and blonde. It had to be Alison. Upon impact, the rock shattered the window and Beth cringed while cursing herself aloud.

"_Fuck_," she muttered, jogging toward the house and jumping up into a nearby tree. She then used a branch for leverage and leapt to the newly open window. "Ali!"

"Beth? What the hell are you doing? You gave me a heart attack!" Alison hissed and set down a knife. Beth also noticed her retract her fangs and swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry," Beth told her immediately, not referring to the window.

"What?" Alison murmured.

"I... I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. That was a dick move and I'm sorry," Beth apologized over and over again. "I want you in my life. I really care about you and... I don't ever want you to get out. Please stay."

**. . . . . . . . . .**

"That's it, Beth, I'm leaving."

"What? Why?" Beth asked shrilly, following the woman out of the house.

"Why!? You're asking me _why!?_ You're _never_ home, Beth. You've always got somewhere else to be. You come home late at night when I should be sleeping. But I'm not. I'm awake waiting for _you_. I'm tired, Beth. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of being alone. I'm tired of being tired. I'm leaving. It's for the best. It's evident that you and I want different things. Sometimes that's just how it has to be."

"Lina..."

"And you know what, Beth? I'm tired of all the countless times you've come home beat up and bleeding. You don't even give me an explanation, you just tell me it was nothing. Nothing doesn't beat you up. Nothing doesn't torture you for two days before releasing you. It's clear that you don't want to let me in. And I don't know what else to do but leave. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too—"

"But you're not. You say you're sorry every time you come home late. You say you're sorry every time you come home with new injuries. You say you're sorry every time you have to leave. You're not sorry. If you were sorry, you would stop doing this to me. You would stop making me worry about your safety and you would give me some answers. You're not sorry, Beth. You never were. So don't say that."

. . .

"Okay," Alison whispered, dropping her guard and sitting on the bed. "I won't leave."

Beth relaxed and took a cautious step closer.

"I owe you an explanation," Beth started again. "But bear with me—I'm not really good with explanations. I don't normally do them. That kinda gets me into trouble sometimes, you know?"

Alison remained silent, patiently waiting for Beth to continue. The shifter went over to the vampire and sat next to her, making sure to leave some space between them. It was enough space for another person to squeeze in between them.

"A long time ago, I fell in love with a human... Her name was Adelina. I called her Lina for short... She was my world."

Alison felt a twinge of jealousy, but never let on to it as she listened intently to Beth's story.

"If I could've, I would've spent every waking moment with her. If I could've, I would've reverted back to my human life for her. She was someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. No doubt. She brought an undescribable joy to my life. She made me feel normal and safe amidst all this weird stuff," Beth went on, getting choked up before uttering the words, "I loved her very much."

"I can tell," Alison gently responded.

"One day, we got into a fight. Being with someone like me—or even you, I suppose—is difficult. You know how it is. You always are running around for something or patrolling... Making sure everything is safe. Or running errands."

Alison nodded.

"So I was never home. That made her... sad," Beth confessed, teary-eyed. "So one day, she packed up her things and she left. We fought all the way out the door. She yelled as she left and I yelled back. We didn't end on a good note."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Then I get a letter. Handwritten from Aldous Leekie. Beautiful, calligraphic handwriting. Have you ever seen it?"

Alison shook her head.

"It's beautiful," Beth insisted.

**. . . . . . . . . .**

_**Elizabeth Childs:**_

_**I could not help but overhear your unfortunate, explosive dispute with Ms. Herkus the other evening. I thought she needed some comforting. So I followed her and when she stopped for a good cry, I revealed myself to her. What a glorious sight she was. Frightened, yet so trusting. She came with me upon my asking and I still hold her now. Captive, that is. You will come and save her, won't you? You're her only hope.**_

_**I advise that you come alone. We wouldn't want an excessive amount of casualties, now would we?**_

_**Regards,**_

_**Aldous Leekie**_

. . .

"So I went out immediately. But I couldn't even find a scent. He met me under that tree we sat by—you know, when I was keeping you company as you waited for... well, me?"

Alison nodded, recalling the location perfectly.

"He met me there. And he brought me to a dungeon of some sort. It's hazy, I can't remember it too well. He hit me over the head with something and dragged me there. All I know is that it was dark and damp and she was chained to the floor. Her blood pressure was dangerously low, that I do remember. I-I think they'd been using her as a food source... Indirectly. She was on the brink of death. He wanted to kill me, Alison. It's what he does. He kills my kind just because he can. He hates us. I don't know why. Maybe there is no reason. But I put up a fight and he'd miscalculated his supposed advantage and when he found that he could not win, he killed me in an abstract way by taking the very thing I loved the most..."

"Lina."

"Yes. He mangled her face so mercilessly, you couldn't recognize her as a human being. And he stabbed her in the back twice, each jagged wound outlining her shoulder blades."

**. . . . . . . . . .**

"She's an _angel_!" he shrieked maniacally. "Look at her, Elizabeth. Isn't she just so precious?"

He held the near-lifeless body up to showcase its morbid form. The skin of her face seemed to cling on only be a few shreds, like curtains. She had random streaks of red everywhere, a shiny crimson substance that burned into Beth's memory.

"She'll go up and be an angel in another realm too. _Away_ from you forever," he grinned. "You're foolish, Elizabeth. Coming to save a mere human. Coming to save _this_..."

"I came for her because I _love_ her!" Beth roared, making eye contact with the woman. "Which is more than anyone could ever say about you, you bastard of a man!"

"You've run yourself into a trap!" he shouted. "From which you cannot escape. All for what? Her?"

He set her down and glared menacingly at Beth.

"Let's see whatcha got, wolf."

. . .

"I died that day," Beth numbly whispered. She shook herself back and looked at Alison. "That's why I hate Aldous... That's why I flipped out at you. You are... one of his. If I kill him—which is the only thing I've ever wanted to do and have been trying to do ever since—you'd go with him."

"I could survive... You don't know."

"It's not likely," Beth sighed.

"So what now?" Alison softly asked.

"I don't kill him," Beth finally stated.

"Why not?"

"Because it's not worth risking you. I lost someone I loved once. I'm not gonna do it again."

Just as Alison went to speak, a light tap on the door sounded and the two of them exchanged a look.

"One moment please," Alison called.

"No, now!" Rachel barked, forcing the door open. Alison closed her eyes and waited for the blonde's wrath. But no such thing came. "Who were you talking to?"

"No one," Alison lied, her eyes darting around and searching for Beth, who'd somehow managed to disappear.

"Why does it smell like a _wolf_ was in here?" Rachel asked, stepping further into the room and looking around suspiciously.

"I don't know. I was trying to figure that out myself—"

"Silence," Rachel ordered, throwing Alison's closet doors open and rifling through her clothes. "Don't you move a muscle. I'll _kill_ you the second you do."

Alison ignored her urge to nod and she could only watch as Rachel opened literally anything that'd been previously closed, emptied every container's, drawers, or bin's contents and moved everything in her room. Not one thing was left untouched by the time the Brit finished her search.

"Where is she?" Rachel asked, fuming as she went over to the window and looked out and down.

"Where is who?" Alison responded innocently.

"The wolf!" Rachel snapped as she turned around and narrowed her eyes. She began to advance upon Alison. "Where. Is. She? I know you have her in here somewhere. If I find her in here or anywhere else in this house for that matter, I'll kill her on the spot. And then I'll come after you."

"I really don't know what you're talking about," Alison protested.

"Mark my words," Rachel warned. "And close that window. It's drafty in here."

As soon as she left and slammed the door behind herself, Alison relaxed and looked at the window wondering how she'd manage to fix it before Rachel noticed it'd been broken by a failed attempt at romance. She then saw two feet dangling in front of it before they swung in as Beth landed inside the room.

"I was on the roof. Clever huh?" Beth smirked.

"Beth, you idiot!" Alison hissed at her. "Rachel wants your head on a silver platter. What're you still doing here?"

"I don't know. I like being with you," Beth grinned, her sadness seeming to have faded away.

"I like you being with me too. But that's not going to happen anymore if Rachel finds you."

"Ali, are you trying to get rid of me? Sheesh!" Beth feigned offense as she inched toward the window. "Fine, fine. I guess I'll just... go."

And with that Beth jumped out the window, much to Alison's horror. Her eyes widened and she rushed over to it, expecting to see a splattered Beth on the ground below.

The werewolf stood on her feet and looked up at Alison, smiling and waving.

"Idiot!" Alison called softly.

"You know it," Beth grinned before dashing off. Alison rolled her eyes and sighed heavily before turning back around and coming face to face with blonde hair.

"Holy f—fish... sticks," Alison blurted before realizing the hair belonged to Delphine and not Rachel. "Geez, Delphine. Don't sneak up on me like that."

"You've worked it out?" she inquired.

"Yeah, I mean I guess."

"I need to tell you something. I was trying to say it earlier, but Cosima kept shushing me. Rachel did not kill Aldous. That is not how she operates... There is a room. Downstairs," Delphine informed her carefully. "That is where she had been locked up for all this time while Aldous led us. She most likely put him in there. That would be a Rachel thing to do."

"Why?"

"She wishes to lead this clan. She is not pleased with his work."

"What gives her the right?"

"She is the original," Delphine whispered. "She made Aldous."

"What?" Alison's jaw dropped.

"If she dies, we all die. He locked her up for his own personal gain, yes, but also for the safety of all of us. If she dies... we as a chain will all collectively die. I wanted you to know that. It is very risky having her above ground now. We need to protect her at all costs."

"So now that Beth's moved on from killing Aldous..." Alison nodded.

"You need to get her to displace her hatred for Rachel as well," Delphine finished for her.

"Has Rachel done anything to her?" Alison asked. Delphine looked panicked.

"Pardon?"

"Aldous killed her lover. She just told me. So what's Rachel done?"

"_Rien_," Delphine answered. "Nothing. Werewolves can be... prejudiced. Like we can."

"Hm..." Alison thought about it. "I guess you're right."

"Just get her attention off Rachel. Please."

"I'll try."

"_Excellent_."


	7. Chapter 7

Alison crept around the manor, fixing herself a cup of blood in the microwave, and looking out any windows she happened to pass. Everyone else had gone out to do their own thing and she'd decided to stay in for the night.

Just then, an idea occurred to her just as she took the mug out of the microwave and raised it to her lips. If Rachel could sift through her things, why shouldn't she be able to go through hers as well? It was daring, but at this point she didn't care. Rachel had hidden enough as far as she was concerned. She took a sip before walking up to Rachel's room and began with the closet. She found nothing particularly interesting, a million pairs of shoes it seemed. Countless combinations of dresses with them.

She made her way over to the dresser and opened the top drawer and found Rachel's under garments. Most were black, some white, about one set with leopard print. All of them racy, lacy, and extremely sexy. She suddenly felt uncomfortable and quickly closed the drawer, opening the second one only moments after.

Upon opening it, she immediately closed it after a split-second viewing of a good-sized sex toy collection. But the curiosity got the better of her and the drawer was opened for a second time as she peered at its contents. She wondered when the hell Rachel had time to use any of them; she'd never heard anything and they were home almost all the time at the same time. She felt her core grow warm at the idea and closed the drawer again gently.

She then opened the third and final drawer, revealing a myriad of keys. None of which looked familiar which was strange because none even looked like the one the Brit had been holding the day she locked the cellar in front of Alison. She closed it and stood up before going over to her jewelry box.

She opened it and found an assortment of necklaces, rings, and bracelets among other things. But one small, drawstring black pouch caught her attention. What could possibly be in there? She slipped a finger into the top and pulled it open before dumping its contents into the palm of her hand.

A single eyeball fell out and Alison recoiled, causing the eye to bounce off her fingers and onto the carpeted floor. It stared up at her, glossy and lifeless. She felt a chill run down her spine and she used the pouch to pick it up. It didn't squish as she'd anticipated; in fact it felt solid and cold. Upon further inspection, she concluded that it was merely a glass eye.

Rachel had a glass eye?

Alison squinted at it before slipping it back into the pouch, putting the black sac back, and closing the jewelry box. She left Rachel's room and went back downstairs to finish her blood just as Cosima walked through the door.

"Hey, Alison! What's up?"

"N-Nothing," Alison told her, trying to play it cool. "Absolutely nothing. I'm just, you know, enjoying my cup of blood. In solitude."

"Oh, I know what's going on here..." Cosima smirked slyly, causing Alison to begin to panic.

"W-What's going on here exactly?" Alison asked nervously.

"You're missing me!" Cosima exclaimed as she rushed over to hug the surprised vampire. "You didn't want to encroach on my time with Delphine, but you're lonely and missing me."

"Yeah..." Alison nodded, deciding to go with that explanation. "_Totally_."

**. . . . . . . . . .**

"Aldous, what did you do?" Rachel demanded to know, chasing him around the house. Delphine only stood and watched the two of them pass from room to room.

"I did as you asked. I brought Elizabeth Childs down."

"I asked you to kill her."

"I did."

"Then why is there a trail of her _scent_ leading _out_ the back door!?" Rachel screamed, a new thing to Delphine. The blonde never lost it. She always seemed so collected.

"I took her heart, Rachel. Adelina Herkus is dead."

Rachel hissed and crossed her arms.

"I didn't ask you to kill Ms. Herkus. I asked you to kill that bitch Childs! What leverage does the death of Ms. Herkus give us in regards to them? Oh no! A sad werewolf! How _devastating_."

"Save your sarcasm. I did something better," Aldous insisted proudly. "I made a little... agreement with Adelina Herkus."

"What?" Rachel demanded to know.

"I told her I could grant her immortality, if she wanted."

"Stupid—"

"I wasn't finished," he cut her off. "I would grant her immortality if she pledged her fealty to us for eternity."

"What was her response?" Rachel inquired emotionlessly.

"She agreed."

"Where is she?" Rachel asked him.

"Still locked up," he answered, gesturing to the cell door. "You may go in if you wish to speak to her—careful. She's still early on in her transition. She may not be all there."

"I can go in if I want to, Aldous..." she reminded him menacingly as he opened the door for her. He closed it as soon as she was inside. She looked around but saw nothing in there except a single open coffin, clearly empty. "_You_—"

"I told you she may not be all there," he told her smugly as he twirled a key on his index finger. "I'll come get you when I need you. That may be a while though, so make yourself comfortable."

"Where is she!?" Rachel shrieked.

"Rachel, she swore fealty to me and me only. I've hidden her away somewhere you'll never find her," he told the blonde. "I'm running this now. Your reign is over."

"You'll regret this!" Rachel called after him. "You'll never be able to handle it! They'll take advantage of you—you'll lose the clan! You will be the downfall of the coven! I swear it!"

He shrugged and slid a black cover over the small barred window, sealing her in the soundproof room.

"Goodbye, Rachel."

. . .

"Alison, I'm stepping out again. Cosima and Delphine are on duty tonight. Watch the house," Rachel told her. Alison nodded and continued in such way until the blonde was out of sight. She then raced upstairs to the Brit's room and took out a small black book the Brit had stashed away in her mattress.

When Alison opened it, she found messy handwriting and dates as far back as a few centuries. All of them journalistic entries as if someone were recording his or her life. But it wasn't Rachel's as far as the petite brunette could tell, but she didn't know whose it was. She flipped to the last entry and read it.

**_17 October 1827_**

**_I have imprisoned Rachel in the dungeon. Perhaps she is better off down there. The other night went rather strangely. I killed the partner of the lycanthrope, Elizabeth Childs. Or rather, falsified her death. The creature is utterly dismal. Could it be possible to die of a broken heart? I believe so. Elizabeth Childs might just prove my hypothesis, from the look on her face as Adelina Herkus lost consciousness. It was temporary, of course. It was then that we negotiated the possibility of immortality as Ms. Herkus was human._**

**_In exchange for her immortality, she must swear her loyalty to me and the clan I lead. She claimed that there was a benefit for her. I see no such thing. I know she chose immortality because she wanted to live out her days with Elizabeth Childs. But as soon as the transformation was over, I told her of the rivalry that runs through our veins. She was, to say the very least, inconsolable and asked me to return her to her original existence. I told her that it could not be done._**

**_I told her I could only hide her away and she pounced at the idea. She decided that under the circumstances, she would forget about Elizabeth Childs and perhaps even move on._**

**_And so I have hidden her away. In a place so unexpected that she may not even have the ability to locate herself, if she ever finds a way out. No one else will find her, I can guarantee that. Maybe I will take her from that place—perhaps she will be of use at a later time. Much later. Alas, I am out of time. I shall update as soon as I am able._**

Alison closed the book, realizing that Rachel had taken it from Aldous. That was his handwriting. It had to be. Alison opened it for one more peek at his writing, but it didn't seem calligraphic as Beth had described it. Maybe she just had different taste.

Alison put the book back and thought a bit before remembering Delphine's words about locking Aldous downstairs. She just had to see if it was true.

She went over to the Brit's jewelry box, grabbed the pouch containing the eye and what she guessed was the key to the basement and ran downstairs, taking three stairs at a time. Much to her surprise, the key worked and she switched on a light as she made her way to a single cell door with a scanner to the side of it. She'd noticed it a few days ago and put two and two together. Rachel, for some unknown reason, was missing an eye. So she had a prosthetic one. The one in her jewelry box was a spare. This was Alison's only shot at knowing who was behind the door. She held the eye in front of the scanner, praying silently as the green bar traced over the prosthetic iris, an image of Rachel's eye.

Surprisingly, the fake eye worked and Alison heard something click and unlock. She first slid a black cover to her left to reveal a small barred window.

"Delphine?" she heard Aldous' voice ask weakly.

"It's Alison," she replied gently. "Did Rachel put you down here?"

"She did. But only because I tricked her and locked her in here for many years," Aldous admitted with guilt. "So I suppose I had this coming."

"She has a book of yours," Alison informed him. "It's a black leather book."

"My journal. I write things down in there so I don't forget. I am getting old, Alison. I can admit that."

"What does she want with it?"

"Dirt on me, mostly. What's the last thing I wrote in it?" he wondered aloud.

"About an Adelina Herkus," Alison reminded him, watching his expression change.

"Then that's what she wants. She wants Adelina Herkus," he told her with a twinkle in his eyes. "But I never wrote her explicit location."

"I know."

"Ah, so you've read it as well?"

"No... Just the last entry."

"So you don't trust her either," he commented with a smile. "You've been snooping."

"No..." Alison denied. Her shoulders dropped. "_Yeah_."

"I won't tell," he promised. He then slipped into a coughing fit, clearly struggling to stop. "I think I'm getting bronchitis."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Say, how'd you get this open anyway?" he rasped.

"Rachel has a glass eye in her jewelry box," Alison admitted.

"That's what Delphine said," he chuckled. "You both are very clever."

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh. Delphine comes down here to sneak blood to me," Aldous explained. Alison nodded. "She believes she knows where Adelina Herkus is."

"Does she?"

"Well, she was with me every step of the way."

"So she does."

"I can't tell you that for sure. It may be a foggy memory for her," he told Alison. "If she tells you or you put the clues together yourself and figure it out, promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"_Run_," he told her vehemently. "With that knowledge, you do not want to be around when Rachel comes for you."

"What's so special about Adelina?"

"She is the key to peace between our species and the werewolves."

"I thought you hated them..."

"I do. But we need peace. At that point, the point of her transformation, I was tired of fighting. If I made her a vampire and waited long enough, an opportunity would present itself for me to give her back to the pining lone wolf."

"So you were trying to make peace."

"In a sick, twisted way... Yes."

"What's Rachel want with her?"

"To destroy her. She does not wish for peace and she is disgusted by the idea that a werewolf could love one of us and vice versa. Perhaps it is due to her own lack of it. She is a bitter, cold woman, Alison. Do not cross her."

His words didn't make sense to Alison, but she didn't know what to believe.

"I think that, as a team, we would be unstoppable. We could act at night and them during the day. No ungodly shifts necessary. Just natural circadian rhythms for us all."

"What changed your mind?"

"Seeing just how much what I did broke Elizabeth Childs," he answered with surprising candor. "In that moment, I realized that they weren't just creatures. They had their own thoughts and emotions like we do. Sure, they sometimes feed off human beings, but so do we—in our own way. Does it really matter how? Either way, the victim dies."

"True."

"I said it myself in that entry... I feared the poor werewolf would die of a broken heart," he confessed. "I believe I even underlined it for emphasis. It was eye-opening. Besides. Adelina was so willing to sign herself over to me in case they could somehow see each other again, even after I told her about our rivalry. She kept her faith even up to the point when I hid her. How could someone love a supposedly heartless creature the way she loved Ms. Childs?"

"If you don't hate them, why did you get upset when I went into those woods?" Alison demanded to know.

"Just because I don't hate them doesn't mean I trust them," he admitted. "I don't. They don't know about my future plans for peace between us. I was sure they'd kill you on the spot."

"Hm," Alison grunted, still not buying into it.

"I have to keep up my image in front of Rachel. And you guys too. If you guys knew I'd gone soft, my true intentions would've been evident to Rachel."

"You stabbed Beth in the hand!" Alison pointed out.

"Ah, I did. But it wasn't fatal."

"Whatever," Alison huffed. "Rachel's going to be home soon. I better get back up there and put her eye back."

"Good idea," Aldous reluctantly agreed. Alison began to close the black cover over the window. "Remember: if you find Adelina Harkus, do not tell Rachel."

Alison nodded before completely sealing him in and trudging upstairs. She closed the door and locked it before returning the pouch to the blonde's jewelry box. She stood and thought for a moment, piecing together everything she had on the entire situation. Her main focus: Adelina Harkus.

There was a good possibility of her being alive somewhere. But should Alison tell Beth? The vampire struggled with the idea. Telling Beth meant she'd surely lose her for good. But not telling her wasn't fair. Then again, life wasn't fair. Alison ran a hand through her hair and began pacing outside of Rachel's room and didn't stop pacing until Delphine and Cosima returned with blood bags and smiles.

"Bonsoir, Alison!" Delphine greeted her cheerfully.

When she didn't answer, Cosima put in, "That means good evening."

"I know," Alison told her irritatedly.

"Oh come on, Alison. What's up now?"

"Is Rachel behind you guys?"

Delphine began to look nervous and she closed the door before she shook her head.

"Do any of you know anything about an Adelina Herkus?"

Delphine's eyes went to Cosima, who shook her head no. The blonde smiled nervously before manually turning the brunette around to speak to her.

"Cosima, Rachel asked me to tell you that she wants an extra load of O neg. I forgot to mention it earlier. Do you think you could...?"

"Sure," Cosima nodded, going for the door. "See ya later."

As soon as she was out the door, Delphine grabbed Alison and led her to the couch.

"What do you know about Herkus?" she asked. She resembled a deer in headlights. "And don't ever say that name in this house."

"Okay, sorry."

"What do you know about her?" Delphine repeated with more force this time.

"Nothing. It seems she's a highly sought-after person."

"She is."

"I heard you know some stuff about her," Alison went on. "Do you think you could tell me?"

"That depends on what you're asking."

"Have you seen Aldous' little black book?" Alison inquired and Delphine nodded a serious yes. "He wrote something about her—"

"_The seventeenth of October of the year eighteen twenty-seven,_" Delphine began. "_I have imprisoned Rachel in the dungeon. Perhaps she is better off down there. The other night went rather strangely_..."

The French woman continued reciting the passage word for word until she reached the end, leaving Alison astounded.

"_And so I have hidden her away. In a place so unexpected that she may not even have the ability to locate herself, if she ever finds a way out. No one else will find her, I can guarantee that. Maybe I will take her from that place—perhaps she will be of use at a later time. Much later. Alas, I am out of time. I shall update as soon as I am able,_" Delphine finished with a sigh. "Yes, I've read it thousands of times over. I've ingrained it in my brain, Alison. Some of the underlined material appears to be purely for emphasis. And other parts of it seem like they could be important. I am not sure yet."

"So you don't know where she is."

"I have my suspicions. I've never had time to check," Delphine confessed. "Rachel is breathing down my neck and Cosima is, well, she is time-consuming. In a good way, I assure you."

Alison nodded.

"What gets me is that that is the last entry—_October 17, 1827_. He said he would update the next time he is able. Has he not been able in the past 187 years?" Delphine pointed out. "Or have some pages been ripped out cleanly?"

The blonde paused as she stared at Alison curiously.

"How did you manage to obtain said book?"

"Why? Is that a hard feat?"

"Well, it's just that... He has only ever let me see its contents."

"I was snooping around in Rachel's room," Alison confessed. "I know, that's wrong, but—"

"I do it too," Delphine admitted sheepishly. "So did Aldous. The only one who doesn't as far as I know is Cosima."

"Does she care?"

"She does. But she does not sink to such low levels," Delphine remarked. "She is very... _rigorous_."

Alison squinted at Delphine, suddenly feeling uncomfortable at her latest statement about Cosima being rigorous.

"You mean... righteous?" Alison offered, hoping a mixup of words was the case.

"Oh! Yes, sorry..." Delphine blushed.

"Aldous said you were with him every step of the way in regards to Herkus."

"I was."

"Delphine... Help me with something."

"Sure."

"Do I tell Beth?"

"About Herkus?"

"Yes. I know if I were her, I'd want to know if my presumed dead girlfriend was alive," Alison admitted. "But on the other hand... I really like Beth. And I'm afraid that if I tell her about Herkus' status of being alive, I'll lose her."

"Alison, that is a decision you must make yourself," Delphine gently told her.

"But I don't want to be selfish..." Alison whined.

"Then tell her."

"But, Delphine, when it comes to her... I _do_ want to be selfish," Alison confessed with conviction.

"Then don't tell her."

"Delphine, I'm serious. I need help."

"I can see that."

"And I can see you're not going to provide that," Alison grumbled, jamming her hand into her pocket and taking out a coin. "Heads I tell her, tails I don't. Sound fair?"

"What do you have there?" Delphine inquired, trying to get a look at the selected coin.

"A quarter."

"Then no, it doesn't sound fair—quarters are statistically more likely to land with heads facing up," Delphine informed her.

"Are you serious?"

"No," Delphine chuckled. "Cosima told me I had to lighten up and joke around more often. I decided to try it. I admit it is fun... Anyway, while that is said to be true, there is nothing that actually supports that claim."

Alison grunted her response and flipped the coin, allowing it to land on the floor.

"Now... Delphine, I want you to look at the coin and tell me what it says."

"Alright. But first... Which side did you want it to be?" Delphine wondered, picking the coin up off the ground.

"Truthfully? Tails," Alison admitted.

"Well, it's heads."

"I figured."

"But what that means is that you'd made up your mind before you flipped the coin."

"What are you saying?"

"I am saying to trust your gut," Delphine replied. "Maybe Beth shouldn't know about Herkus being alive. Think of all it could do—not just with respect to yourself, but also this delicate situation."

The blonde paused and frowned as another possibility came to her.

"Then again, I know how these things go. Somehow the person kept in the dark always finds out..."

"Wow. You sound just as torn as I do and you're not even dealing directly with this," Alison remarked.

"I've made up my mind," Delphine told her. "It's time for you to make up yours."

"I'd ask Cosima, but... You seem to not want her to know," Alison commented and Delphine nodded.

"You are right. I don't. She already doesn't know a lot in regards to the situation. But I don't want her being wrapped up in it. And she would dig into information that's been buried for a reason—you know, try to find Herkus. She has an inquisitive mind."

"Yes I do!" Cosima responded in a singsong voice as she breezed through the door.

"Cosima!" Delphine blurted. "How long have you been in here?"

"Not long. I heard something about me having an inquisitive mind... That's about it," Cosima told her cheerfully.

"Oh..."

"So where's the HBIC?"

"She is out," Delphine answered with a chastising tone.

"_Shame,_" Cosima remarked sarcastically. "'Cause now I can't get yelled at for not wiping my feet before coming in."


	8. Chapter 8

_"We're going back to my place," Beth told Alison as if she were reminding her and promising her as their interlocked hands swung together with every stride._

_"Yeah... I know," Alison responded, unsure of as to why Beth was talking to her like that._

_"So why do you keep looking at me like you want to eat me?" Beth chuckled as they walked leisurely through the forest._

_"I-I..." Alison breathed sincerely as she took in the sight of Beth. Truth was she did want to. The way her hair shone in the moonlight and how her eyes glistened was too much. Even her skin seemed to glow and all Alison could do was stare. She couldn't even finish her though, whatever it had been. And she hated to admit it, but the woman had a magnetic presence, one she'd noticed even the first time they'd met. In truth, Alison had wanted her ever since. That was the sole reason that she was there._

_Did she really care if Beth wanted her back? Not completely. Alison had made it her mission to be irresistibly desirable to Beth—a skill vampires had against humans. They had a special essence that no human could replicate—how else would they be able to lure them in? Yet the human standing before her, Beth, seemed to match it perfectly if not surpass it. The attraction made Alison believe it was not a possibility of Beth not wanting her._

_The vampire looked at the shifter's lips and swallowed hard before biting her own bottom lip. She knew how obvious she was, but she just couldn't help herself. She took a hesitant step forward, hoping that Beth would pick up on her not-so-subtle hints, only to be blocked off by Beth, who also stepped forward toward Alison, but her movement was more solid and sure. Beth seemed to tower over her and Alison basked in her shadow as she looked up into her intense, dark eyes._

_Before Alison could process what was happening, Beth backed her up, locking eyes with her as she got closer and closer. The pale woman backed up roughly into an enormous tree trunk and she put her hands on its sides, gasping with surprise. She could feel the rough, damp surface as she watched Beth come closer. Perhaps the gesture was meant to be somewhat challenging, Alison didn't know, but it came off as incredibly seductive anyhow._

_Before she could even steady herself, Beth's lips were on hers, desperately searching for a reaction while her hands pinned Alison's above their heads at the wrists. The shifter's lips were soft and fit perfectly with her own, which made her head spin. Alison had been secretly waiting for something like this to happen. It was something out of a dark fantasy of hers—one that she would never confess to ever having—and yet it was actually happening and she was more than fully compliant. Alison daringly slipped her hands out of Beth's hold and grabbed Beth's hair, stroking it while gently pulling at it as if she wanted to keep her there in that moment forever._

_Beth's tongue slipped past Alison's lips, warm and wet. The intense, intimate intrusion stunned the vampire and she was certain she would collapse, but somehow she managed not to; it seemed to satisfy the pale woman's deepest needs, desires of which she had never even been remotely aware. She wanted so much more._

_She wanted Beth underneath her. She wanted Beth on top of her. She wanted Beth all around her, enveloping her in her sheer sultry essence; inside her and outside. She felt she might burst._

_But she knew she had to be careful. Beth was perfect in every way it seemed—strong, sexy, and smart—but that combination could prove to be a disaster with Alison, who had a hard time controlling herself when it came down to the pleasures of life. She she tried lectured herself something about self control and resisting the urge to bite at Beth's neck, but she wouldn't listen to her conscience—hell, she couldn't even muster enough concentration to give herself a good, firm scolding. She could feel herself slipping away into oblivion with every touch._

_She felt Beth's mouth move to her jaw before the woman lightly dragged her teeth down the side of her neck. Alison shuddered and a breathy moan followed by a sharp gasp escaped from her parted lips. She was so sure that she was liquefying in Beth's hands. She could barely feel herself amidst all the Beth that seemed to swirl around her, like a cooling mist on a hot day. She was losing her willpower and fast. If Beth didn't stop, she'd lose it completely. Yet she couldn't bring herself to impede Beth's advances. If anything, she encouraged them as she brought the shifter'a face to her chest and throwing her head back._

_"You taste so sweet..." Beth mumbled into Alison's chest cavity. Alison shuddered once again at the heat from her breath. "Spread your legs for me."_

_Another soul-drenching deep kiss._

_"Now."_

_Alison's legs shook and Beth had to manually do it for her. The woman wasted no time in sliding her hand down Alison's pants as she went to kiss her deeply once again as she slipped a finger inside Alison's center._

_The shifter soon slid another finger inside the vampire's core and Alison's lips parted as she lost all sense of control, accidentally allowing her fangs to drop. Beth felt two long, jagged teeth against her tongue and immediately withdrew herself completely from the pale woman._

_"You disgust me!" the wolf roared as a sudden onset of rage overtook her. "Get away from me, you monster!"_

_"Beth! Wait! Please!" Alison called as she ran after her. Beth stopped dead in her tracks and shifted to her wolf form and she looked even more massive than ever._

_"You almost bit me!" she growled, quite literally. "You've betrayed my trust. I never want to see you again!"_

_"What did I do?" Alison pleaded on her knees._

_"You stood in my way as I walked blindly," the wolf cried. So animalistic, yet so human. "I oughta kill you, Alison..."_

_"I oughta kill you," Aldous echoed, appearing out of nowhere. He smiled at Alison strangely. "Or shall I let it run its course?"_

_"I'll kill you," Rachel hissed, jumping out from behind him._

_"Run," Aldous softly ordered, still smiling sinisterly. Beth let out a heartbreaking, bloodcurdling, ear-shattering howl as she advanced upon Alison._

_"You did this," she salivated. "You turned us against you."_

_"You went through my things," Rachel remarked dangerously._

_"You betrayed the entire clan," Aldous added._

_"And you broke my heart," Beth barked. "Won't be long before you meet your end. I'll gladly do it myself, you selfish, despicable bitch."_

_"Beth... Please..." Alison whispered. "Please."_

Alison woke in a cold sweat with her heart pounding and her breaths shallow. Her eyes darted around the room and she panicked even further upon the discovery of two glowing eyes to her right.

"Oh my fucking—" she started, but was cut off as a furry paw was put over her mouth.

"Shhh... Ali, it's just me," a voice chuckled softly.

The source of the voice clicked the light on and a friendly smiling face greeted her.

"Hey," Beth said.

"H-Hi..." Alison breathed, trying to catch her breath and regulate her heartbeat. "What are you doing out so late at night?"

"I think the better question is what are you doing _in_ so late at night?" Beth chuckled as she climbed into bed with the vampire. Alison watched the sheets wrinkle upon contact and imprints form after Beth's every move. Alison tensed up and immediately put her guard up for a reason unknown to herself.

"Beth, this isn't a good idea..." Alison told her a little too late. The woman was already under the sheets and looking comfy as she gazed at her.

"I'm not known for making good decisions," Beth told her lightheartedly. "Besides. I wanted to see you."

"Well, you've seen me..." Alison chuckled nervously. Beth grinned as she leaned over and tenderly kissed Alison on the lips. When she pulled away, she took in the sight of the vampire. Alison shook her head with a smile, knowing very well Beth had already gotten her way and said, "Okay, you really need to get out. _Now_. Out."

"Ali, you were breathing fast and moaning in your sleep," Beth commented cautiously, studying the vampire's face. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It just... It seemed like you and I were having s—"

"Beth, why must you go there?" Alison asked defensively. "I wasn't having a lezzy wet dream."

Beth's jaw dropped before she managed to recollect herself and say, "I was gonna say it seemed like you and I were having some kind of an _argument_... But now that you bring up lezzy wet dreams, by all means... Expand on that please."

"I..." Alison trailed off. There was no way in hell she could dig herself out of the hole she'd managed to create nor would she be describing any of her dream to her. Especially not her. She stopped completely before she could make a fool of herself and pressed her lips together as a further measure to prevent such an occurrence.

"Man, I must've been _good_... You can barely speak," Beth teased as she scooched closer to her. "C'mon, tell me what we did."

"Beth, no..."

"C'mon... If it's detailed enough, I promise to reenact it with you... If that's what you'd like."

"Beth, I get the feeling that you just came here to wake me up to have sex with me," Alison feigned offense.

"So what if I did?" Beth smirked, though that hadn't been her true intention. "Now... Beth wants Narrator Alison to tell her what happened. Whataya say?"

"I don't have the voice for porn, you know..." Alison told her with a smirk.

"Oh yeah you do," Beth teased. "For me anyway. Come on! What happened?"

"_Well_..." Alison paused. "We were holding hands and walking in the forest."

Beth ran her fingers over the back of Alison's left hand and kissed her shoulder before slipping her hand underneath the vampire's.

"Like this?" she asked. "Or like _this_?"

Beth turned her hand and interlocked their fingers as she watched Alison's reaction, which told her it was the latter.

"Continue."

"You and I locked eyes," Alison went on as she kept her eyes on Beth's. "You backed me up against a tree... I could feel the moss' moisture against my skin, _soaking_ through my clothes as you kissed me."

Beth wet her lips and moved so that she straddled Alison, all the while still keeping their hands interlaced as she smiled at her. She saw Alison's throat move as the vampire swallowed hard and looked at her glossy lips.

"You make it sound so poetic..." Beth grinned.

"You pinned me against that tree..." Alison murmured and Beth kissed her on the lips, stopping only to speak.

"Then what?" she asked quietly.

"I pulled at your hair and you kissed me deeply," Alison told her airily. "I was putty in your hands. I wanted you so _badly_... I wanted to be on top of you and feel you beneath me. I wanted to be underneath you and feel your weight and heat surround me. The sheer desire was burning a hole in my brain. And you kissed my jaw—"

The vampire stopped suddenly and inhaled sharply as Beth found her sweet spot by her collar bone. She swallowed to make her thoughts more comprehensible before she could continue.

"—so tenderly that I wondered if I was even real," she went on shakily. "And then you raked your teeth down the side of my neck."

"_Shit_..." Beth breathed. Her face conveyed all that Alison had to know. The shifter was clearly turned on and it was hot.

"Your touch made me quiver and you drew guttural moans and sharp, uneven gasps from my open mouth..." Alison whispered. "You told me how sweet my flesh tasted and ordered me to spread my quaking legs before you slipped your hot tongue past my lips again. But I wasn't quick enough for you. You grew frustrated and impatient so you opened them for me."

"And?"

"And your hand made its way down my pants as you kissed me. And then you took one finger and slid it inside me such ease I almost came," Alison smirked devilishly at the shifter's dilated pupils and she bit her bottom lip teasingly. "Then you pushed another finger in and began to fuck me slowly against that damp, hard tree."

"_Ali,_" Beth's husky voice managed to get out.

"Yeah?"

"Stop talking," she softly ordered as she hooked her fingers underneath the vampire's shirt and played with it. She laughed airily and added, "_Please_."

. . .

"Hey, Jen!" Beth greeted the woman as soon as she walked in. She looked at the man standing beside her. "Art."

"Hi, Beth!" Jennifer replied with equal cheerfulness. Art looked at the two of them before he started smirking.

"Well, somebody just got laid," he commented under his breath. He shook his head and chuckled.

"Excuse me?" Beth stopped him in his tracks as she began to walk away. "What'd you just say?"

"You got laid! That's great!" he exclaimed with a teasing twinkle in his eyes.

"You know what? _Fuck_ you, Art!" she responded.

"How could you even tell?" Jennifer demanded to know.

"She has a certain... g_low _about her," Art admitted gleefully. He'd gotten her and he'd gotten her good. "So who was it, Beth?"

"Fuck you," Beth muttered again.

"Was it that blonde from a month ago?" he pressed with a devilish grin. "Or the redhead?"

Beth rolled her eyes and stared at him.

"Both at the same time!?" he inquired. "You got more charm than I thought."

"Art, would you cut it out?" Beth sighed as she smiled. "Jesus."

"It was Alison," Jennifer put in. "I'm calling it."

"What? Since when?" Beth asked in regards to Jennifer's intuitive guess.

"Since even _I_ know that you sleep with who you say you're gonna sleep with."

"I never said—"

"You thought it. Close enough."

"It _was_ Alison, wasn't it?" Art agreed. "Damn, Beth."

"Shut up, dipshit."

"No, I'm happy for you. Really," he told her. "I've never seen you happier."

"Jesus, Art. Just... Get back to normal. Insult my face or something. Punch me in the arm. _Something_," Beth pleaded.

"The only thing I have a problem with grasping is how a girl with a face like _yours_ got a girl with a face like _hers_," Art joked. Beth scrunched her face up and feigned offense.

"Much better," she told him.

. . .

"Delphine, can we talk?" a small voice called through the door. The blonde looked up from her book and stared at the door as if she could see who it was on the other side.

"Come in," she called. The door opened and revealed a shaken looking Alison. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I slept with Beth," Alison blurted. She swallowed hard and her eyes darted around as if the walls had ears. The French woman raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow and smirked.

"Alison, I hardly think that is a _problem_," she chuckled as she set the book down on her nightstand. "If you ask me, I think that is the complete opposite of a problem..."

Before Alison could protest, Cosima walked out of the bathroom, or rather stumbled as she wasn't wearing her glasses, wearing only jeans and a bra. Alison cast her eyes to the floor and chewed the inside of her lip uncomfortably.

"Hey," Cosima greeted Delphine as she bent down to kiss her on the lips. The myopic girl missed the mark as she kissed the corner of Delphine's mouth rather than the center and Alison couldn't help but find that somewhat cute. She then sat beside the blonde and reached over her for her glasses and slipped them on. "Oh! Hi, Alison."

"Hi," Alison returned the greeting.

"Hey, not that I was eavesdropping—but I totally was... Sorry about that—but yeah, I totally agree with Delphine on this one. Sleeping with Beth is _far_ from a problem. Like, have you _seen_ her? She's hot. Shes not just hot she's... she's... She's like, a solid ten and a half on a one-to-five scale. Let's be honest here," Cosima remarked. "She is _bangin_' hot. I mean, you go Alison! She is quite the catch—"

Cosima stopped as she noticed Delphine's unimpressed facial expression before she shot her an angelic smile.

"I love you," she told her innocently.

"Mm," Delphine responded tersely.

"Aw, c'mon..." Cosima whispered, giving her a peck on the cheek. "Say you love me."

"Mm," Delphine grunted softly.

"Delphine..."

"Je t'aime," Delphine sighed as she made a huge deal out of it. She smiled at Cosima with a teasing look about her.

"Better," Cosima replied.

"Can we get to more pressing issues beside her decision to or to not say she loves you? We already know," Alison told them both as she interrupted their moment. "I slept with Beth and while it's evident that neither of you think that's a problem, I think it is because I still haven't told her—"

Delphine shot Alison a look that shut her up immediately. Oh. Right. She wasn't supposed to mention the woman in front of Cosima.

"Oh, dude..." Cosima trailed off as the smile faded. "Do you have like, crabs or something? 'Cause in that case, I guess you're right... That _is_ a problem."

"What? No! No, I don't have crabs," Alison told her shrilly.

"Cos, Alison ran into one of Beth's exes," Delphine fibbed. "The other day. It seems Beth still has feelings for her, but she doesn't believe those are reciprocated."

"Okay..."

"But it turns our they are. And Alison does not want to tell her because she may lose Beth."

"Oh wow..." Cosima paused and shrugged. "I wouldn't tell her."

"Cosima..." Delphine chided.

"Hey, I'm just giving my opinion. She's hot, she's kind, she's a keeper. Duh."

"You know, it makes me wonder what you hide from me," Delphine joked lightly. "But Alison knows I do not agree with that."

"Well then, I guess you're more honest than me."

"I guess so."

**. . . . . . . . . .**

The brunette woke with a start. Shreds of light poured into the room through boarded windows, showcasing the dust particles floating about. She wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep. All she knew was that she'd endured great pain for many hours on end. She figured she must've blacked out or something. Upon looking around, she found that the room was almost bare. It had a vanity mirror sitting atop a desk. The door was closed, possibly locked—she didn't know. She couldn't hear anything either.

She lifted her hand to her face and ran her fingertips over her soft cheek before realizing she hadn't taken a breath in a good three minutes or so. She found that when she tried to, it just seemed like something extra to do like swinging an arm or kicking a leg. She pulled at her hair and stared at the chestnut shade before her and that's when she realized that she didn't even remember what she looked like. She had snow white skin and brown hair. That was it. She didn't even know what color her eyes were.

She got up off the floor and dusted herself off before approaching the mirror as if it were a foreign object. It was covered in a thick layer of dust and the woman went to work trying to clean it off. Once it'd been cleared, she took a deep breath and brought her gaze to its surface.

Nothing.

She dropped the mirror out of sheer disturbed surprise and it shattered once it hit the ground.

It hadn't exactly been nothing; the mirror worked perfectly fine. It reflected the wooden support beams of the ceiling and even the bit of wall that'd managed to squeeze into its shiny, reflective picture.

But it hadn't reflected her own face. She picked up one of the shards carefully between her index finger and thumb and stared at her reflectionless hand. She turned the piece over and it cut the palm of her hand, biting her flesh and drawing blood.

Before she could even react to the injury, she heard the door behind her creak open and a pale blonde woman seemed to float over to her. She offered her a thin smile as she slowly extended a hand.

"Delphine," the blonde introduced herself. Her voice contained a light French accent, somehow instantaneously alluring, and sounded delicate and gentle and airy. Strategically trained to sound tactful, the woman could pick up on that, but still she allowed herself to believe it.

"Nice to meet you, Delphine..." the woman replied, surprised that she couldn't even recognize her own voice. "I'm—"

The woman stopped abruptly as she began to realize she couldn't remember who she was. She wracked her brain for the answer, but still she came up empty.

"I-I'm..." the woman stammered, growing frustrated and embarrassed.

"It is alright. I know who you are," Delphine smiled encouragingly as she clasped her hands together. "Removing your identity was simply a safety precaution on your behalf."

"Safety precaution?"

"Yes, um... How much do you remember?"

"Pain."

"Is that all?"

It wasn't really, but the woman didn't trust the French stranger and she didn't see how telling her anything would solve her seemingly severe case of amnesia.

"Just... pain," the woman insisted.

"Would you like a new one?" Delphine asked as she gestured to the fallen mirror.

"No thank you."

"Alright. Suit yourself."

"Delphine," the woman called as the blonde made her way back to the door. "How long have I been here?"

"A few days. A week at the most," Delphine answered her honestly.

"How long will I stay here?"

"It depends on when he feels the need to come get you."

"He?" the woman asked. "Who's this he?"

But Delphine had already closed the door and locked it behind herself and the woman's body dropped.

"Keep yourself entertained," she heard a voice call through the door. Only a few seconds after, a couple of sketch pads and pencils came sliding under the door.

"I can't draw!" the woman called back, but she paused to think for a moment. Could she draw? Could she really not draw? Was that something about her that she might possibly have remembered? She took a hesitant step toward the materials before flipping a sketch pad open and taking a pencil to it.

_POSSIBLY REMEMBERED TRAITS:_

_-Can't draw_

The woman went to close it, but decided not to. Instead, she turned to a clean sheet and began sketching a face of what she felt she looked like, making sure to at the very least incorporate her correct hair color. Little did she know, but that would be the first of many sketches to come over the years.

Once she'd finished, she stared at the drawing and decided it looked like a ten-year-old had drawn it. She went back to her list and traced over the letters.

_POSSIBLY REMEMBERED TRAITS:_

**_-can't draw_**

She then added another as she thought back on the conversation she'd had only moments ago.

_POSSIBLY REMEMBERED TRAITS:_

**-can't draw**

_-distrustful_

She stared at the page in front of her and wondered what else she might remember. She thought and thought, but nothing new ever came to her mind.


	9. Chapter 9

**. . . . . . . . . .**

The woman had taken to settling into a routine every day. She would wake up at sunrise and after a few hours of being awake, typically a bag of blood would be slid under the door for her. At first, she was squeamish at the idea of consuming it and didn't touch it.

In fact, she found that worthy of writing on the list of her personality traits—squeamish around blood.

But soon hunger got the better of her. She wrote down what was on the label every day for each bag—it was different every time. Were they testing to see what her favorite was? She didn't know. All she knew was that she wanted to record everything that happened.

After she finished with it, she would slide it back under the door and it would be taken immediately.

And then she'd draw—herself, usually. or rather what she suspected that she looked like. And overtime her sketches became more and more sophisticated. But no matter how detailed and crisp her lines were, none of the faces that were spread out before her looked familiar.

Once she'd finished it, she'd sit for an hour, staring at her list of character traits she had created for herself and try to remember any other traits.

That was a typical day for the brunette. Or it was until today. Just as she'd finished adding to her list, the door opened. She looked down at her list one last time before closing it just as a woman stepped in.

"Good eve—morning," Delphine greeted her. "How are you feeling?"

It was only after Delphine asked did the brunette notice how tired the blonde looked.

"Fine..."

"I have good news," she told her. "He is ready for you. You only have to stay here for another week. Then he will come get you."

"A week? Why do I have to wait that long?"

"Some preparations must be made," Delphine answered. "But I can allow you out of this room if you'd like. Not outside, but at least you would not be confined to these walls."

"Okay," the woman nodded.

"Alright. Well, first... I suppose I should give you a name so when Aldous—that is the 'he' I've been referring to—comes by, he has something to call you. Is Jane good? Jane Doe?"

"I suppose that'd suit me."

"Alright then," Delphine led her from the room into a dark hallway. The woman's enhanced vision surprised herself. "First thing's first. Go to sleep."

"I'm sorry, what?" the woman asked as Delphine paused in front of another door.

"Go. To sleep," Delphine repeated more slowly. "Is my accent that bad?"

"No, no. Not at all," Jane replied. She just didn't think she'd heard her correctly. "It's just that it's the middle of the morning... And I've only just risen hours ago."

"Jane, you are a vampire now. We sleep during the day."

"You don't," she pointed out.

"You're right. To some extent. I have purposely botched my sleeping schedule to synchronize with yours. That way I can talk to you. But now we must sleep."

"I can't possibly sleep."

"That is what I said," Delphine smiled. "When I was in your place. You'll find that you will settle right into sleep. It is natural. Let me prove it to you. Have you really felt well rested after your night sleeps or is it just a dull awakeness?"

"I haven't really thought about it."

"Lie down for ten minutes. If you do not fall asleep or feel tired, you can get up."

"Okay."

"Great," Delphine yawned as she opened the door to reveal two coffins and a couch on the other side. "I figured that you would not appreciate sleeping in a corpse's bed, so I incorporated a typical human site of rest in this room's decor."

Her formality amused the new vampire as she went straight to the couch.

"Ten minutes," Delphine reminded her as she went into her own coffin. She laid down and waited for about seven minutes before she sat up and looked over at the dark crimson couch. Jane Doe had fallen asleep.

Delphine smiled at the sight, the way a mother would at a newborn, and got up ever so carefully before creeping out of the room. She took each stair with care as she went down to the main floor.

"Aldous," she whispered and he emerged from a different room.

"Yes?"

"She is upstairs. Sleeping."

"Good. That means by tomorrow we can get back to our usual sleep schedules."

"I kind of miss the daylight..." Delphine admitted. "It is beautiful when the sun rises."

"That was our past," Aldous replied. "It's time to let that go."

Delphine nodded.

"Couch or coffin?"

"Couch."

"Slowly but surely," he commented before disappearing.

. . .

"So. I don't know if you know about this, but you're about to," Cosima murmured to Alison as she grinned. "I totally heard Aldous and Delphine talking about it... I don't know why they think I can't hear with earbuds in, but whatever. There's another member to this clan. A _hidden_ member."

"What?" Alison feigned surprise.

"Yeah," Cosima nodded enthusiastically. "Some Hark lady or something like that. Hark... _Harker_? Harks? _Harkus_...?"

"Herkus?" Alison offered.

"That's it," Cosima's eyes lit up with recognition. "Did you know?"

"Sorta."

"Well, I've been doing some digging... Aldous was supposed to kill her. But he didn't. I don't know why, but he totally went all soft on her and let her live—as a vampire, sure, but fact is that he didn't kill her."

"Okay..."

"She was courting Beth at the time—courting. What an old-fashioned word... Cosima, focus!" the brunette scolded herself. "Sorry. Anyway, I was thinking... What if that ex of Beth's you ran into the other day was her?"

"Oh, uh..." Alison hesitated as it'd been a lie to cover up knowledge about Adelina. "It wasn't. She was human."

"Oh..." Cosima responded, slightly deflated. The two of them then heard a huge thump on the roof before seeing a familiar pair of legs hang down before swinging into the room followed by Beth's face.

"Hey—" the shifter stopped at the sight of Cosima.

"Hi, Beth."

"Hi," Beth nodded at Cosima and then looked at Alison questioningly. "Alison."

"Should I go?" Cosima asked the shifter.

"No, I just dropped by to... Drop by," Beth responded. It was then Cosima concluded that she was a horrible liar.

"I'm gonna go," Cosima insisted as she pointed to the door. "But you two have fun doing... each other. I mean, whatever it is you guys do. I'm going now."

Alison blushed as Cosima winked at her before making her exit and Beth chuckled.

"You guys... You're not all that bad."

Alison's heart sank at Beth's words for what she was about to say could just change the werewolf's mind.

"Beth, I have to tell you something. But first, I should ask you to please find it in yourself to not be mad at me... I held off for a little bit so I could keep you."

"Keep me? What is it, Ali?"

"Your girlfriend's alive."

Beth's heart skipped a beat before her mind took over and insisted the sentence couldn't possibly mean what she'd originally interpreted it as.

"Excuse me—"

"I don't know where she is, but she's alive. Somewhere," Alison nervously informed her. It was exactly that. But Beth refused to believe it.

"Ali, what are you talking about? You're right here," she replied with every fiber of her being hoping that somehow, someway Alison was joking.

"Adelina," Alison breathed as she forced herself to look into Beth's confused eyes. "Adelina Herkus. She's alive somewhere."

Alison swore Beth's face went sheet white as the werewolf stood up shakily and backed away. Beth's heart raced, almost too quick to be alive. This had to be a prank. Some sick and twisted prank.

"Ali," she rasped, her voice hoarse and her eyes fearful. "That's not funny."

"I'm not trying to be funny, Beth. She's alive."

"That's sick, Ali. That's really sick," Beth told her angrily. Why wouldn't this damn vampire let up? Couldn't she understand that this wasn't striking the wolf as funny?

"Beth, I'm serious. Aldous—"

"Aldous doesn't know _shit_. He put you up to this. He fucking put you up to this, didn't he? _DIDN'T HE_?" Beth fumed.

"Beth, no. No, you've got it all wrong—"

"_I've_ got it all wrong?" Beth shrilly interrupted. "I watched that bastard _beat_ her to _death_. Don't you _dare_ tell me I've got it wrong. You weren't there. You didn't see the life draining from eyes. You didn't see each breath get shallower. They've brainwashed you, Ali."

"Beth, I'm not crazy. Aldous didn't kill her. He went soft on her. He let her live."

"Bullshit," Beth spat. "Even if he'd left her there to die, she never would've made it. Besides, that was centuries ago. There's no possible way she'd be alive now."

Beth turned toward the window, preparing to hurtle herself out of it. She almost didn't want to brace herself for the drop.

"But she is," Alison adamantly insisted, timidly following her. "She's a vampire, Beth."

"_What_?" Beth asked through clenched teeth. Alison saw a glint of ferocity she'd only ever seen in the shifter when she'd fought for her life. She was going to quite literally kill her—Alison was sure of it. The vampire backed up a bit and put her hands out in front of her defensively.

"Aldous turned her that night."

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying. He turned her and he hid her away."

"And why the hell would he do that?"

"I don't know... He said it was some kind of attempt at peace—"

"Attempt at _peace_?" Beth growled, inching closer. Alison noticed how jagged the shifter's teeth had gotten and she gulped. "He took the love of my life away because he wanted to make _peace_ with me?"

Alison didn't answer.

"He's crazier than I thought! I take back what I said earlier. You guys aren't as bad as I thought," Beth paused dramatically. "You're _worse_."

"Beth—"

"_No_," she snapped. "Don't you 'Beth' me. If what you say is actually true, I'm gonna find her. If it's the last thing I do."

"Beth..."

"And if... If what you say turns out to be a _lie_..." Beth trailed off. "I'll never forgive you."

"_Beth_—"

"_Ne-ver_," she spat. "In fact I'll track you down and I'll kill you myself. That's not a threat, Alison. That's a _promise_."

And with that, the werewolf leaped from the window to the ground and tore off into the woods.

**. . . . . . . . . .**

"You strike me as an AB positive girl," Delphine smiled as she handed the woman a bag of blood.

"Uh..."

"I've never given you this type before. So this is probably the one."

"The One?"

"We all have this one type that tastes so amazing, it is like um... _La petite mort_," she giggled. "Judging from your reactions to the others, or rather lack thereof... Those were not your type. So it must be this."

The woman squinted at the blood and shivered. Why did it feel so warm?

"Try it," Delphine encouraged her.

The woman brought the bag to her lips and took a small sip. It was like nothing she'd ever tasted before, incomparable to the other types even. It felt the way warm soup feels on a cold day, sliding down her throat and warming her to the very core. So ambrosial, so heavenly...

"Good?" Delphine sought confirmation and Jane nodded with a pleased smile. "_Excellent_. Remember that this is a process. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"What does that mean?"

"It means when I try switch you to humans, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. But just remember you always have the capability to kill them. So be careful."

"Is it too late to turn around and change my mind?" the woman forced a pathetic laugh.

"Yes."

"So you're gonna be with me through this whole process?"

"Just the basics. After that, you are not my responsibility."

"What happens after this?"

"Well, after a few years... Aldous will ask one of us to choose a new member. It's his way of ensuring a constant flow into the clan—we cannot procreate. It can be anyone you want. A loved one, a friend, anyone you want. And he will change them."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Because living this long entails loneliness eventually... Think about it. You will live on as everyone else around you dies out. Take me for example. I let everyone else have their turn to choose—granted we lost them in an ambush—and here I am, alone. When he asks, I am sure he will choose me. But if you have someone in mind... I could let you take this one."

"No, you've waited long enough I suppose. Besides... I don't have anyone," the woman told her as a sudden onset of longing courses through her. "Did he choose you?"

"That is a good question. I have asked him that many times. He says he did not, but when I ask him who did, he does not respond."

"Oh."

"He is full of secrets. That I do know."

. . .

"Lina's alive," Beth muttered to herself as she stomped the entire way back to the shack. She threw open the door and marched inside, slamming the poor door behind her. "Lina. _Alive_."

"Beth?" Art wondered aloud as he walked into the living room wearing nothing but a towel.

"What the actual _fuck_, Art?" she ranted, never noticing his lack of clothing.

"I just took a shower. I didn't think you'd be home—"

"Not that," she paused and stared at the towel, the one thing separating her from him. "But God _dammit_, Art. I told you not to walk around like that. This house is literally all girls right now. Except you. As far as I know."

"Sorry. What're you ranting about?"

"I just received some news that Lina may be alive and walking this earth."

"_Lina_? As in...?"

"Yes. Apparently the vampires have her."

"You don't think this is a trap? Beth, they've lured you with her once. You don't think they'll do it again? They can and they _will_. They're _bluffing_, Beth. You must know that."

"But there's a chance that they're _not_."

"That's what you said last time and look what it got you. A broken heart and severe scarring. You didn't go out for months afterward. Do you have any idea what that did to you? Don't let that happen to you again, Beth. Don't."

"Art, I didn't believe it either. Okay? I didn't. I _wouldn't_. But think about it. Just think. Of all the things they could conjure up in their sick little minds, why would they choose a repeat? That wouldn't make sense—it's not like them. They'd have something way better than that."

"Well, they've got you a second time, haven't they?"

"It wouldn't make sense, Art. They could just take Ali—"

"Ali is one of theirs. Don't forget that. They'd never do anything to her to get to you."

"They could. And they wouldn't have to do anything. Like you said, she's one of theirs. They could stage the entire thing. I think Lina really is alive and I'm gonna find her."

"What about Alison?"

"I don't know... She's the one who told me."

"That's complex... What happens when you find Lina?"

"I-I don't know..." Beth sighed. "It's been so long... I can barely even remember what she looks like. Think she remembers me?"

"Don't be _ridiculous_, Beth..." Art scoffed. His expression then softened. "Of course she remembers you. How could she forget? I bet she thinks about you all the time. In fact, I bet she's thinking about you right now..."

. . .

Alison sat on the floor by the empty fireplace and picked at the planks of wood around her. Something was bothering her lately and it disturbed her beyond what she could even fathom was possible.

"Alison? Would you like me to make a fire?" Delphine asked softly, joining the brooding vampire.

"No, thank you."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Is it Beth?"

"Look, I said I don't want to talk about it. Alright?"

Delphine nodded and forced herself to stop prodding. Cosima breezed in at that very moment and beamed at the two of them.

"Hey, is it like, family-bonding-minus-that-douchebag-Aldous night or something? Because I am so in! I just wish you would've told me sooner—"

"Cosima... Hush," Delphine warned her and Cosima understood immediately.

"Hey so, Alison... I kinda overheard—"

"Would you quit saying you _overheard_ things?" the grouchy vampire snapped. "Just admit that you eavesdrop. You eavesdropped on Beth and me and you heard it all go down. I know."

"I meant I overheard you with Delphine right now and not wanting to talk about it..." Cosima finished slowly. "So it is Beth."

Alison put a hand over her eyes and sighed as she nodded.

"Yeah," she whispered. "I told her everything and she blew up."

"You know, maybe you guys should just not... _talk_. I mean, it seems every time you wanna say something, you say it and it ends with Beth being pissed off and treating you like shit. And then you, as a result, start moping silently around the house until one of us—cut to Delphine or myself for instance—pries whatever went down out of you."

"_Thanks_," Alison huffed. "And that's actually not what's my biggest concern right now, believe it or not. I kind of expected Beth's reaction and I braced myself for it. She'll come around."

"Mm-hm," Cosima nodded and uttered inaudibly to Alison, "You just keep telling yourself that."

"I can't remember for the life of me what the hell I look like," Alison grumbled as she pounded her little fist on the wooden flooring.

"Oh, that is completely normal," Delphine assured her. "Once you hit a few decades or centuries without ever seeing yourself, you tend to forget. What use does the brain have in recognizing yourself? And may I ask... Why did this suddenly come up?"

"Because I need to know how I fare."

"Alison... I hardly think Beth would be so _shallow_—" Cosima began.

"I wouldn't put it past her," Alison grouched. "Mirrors are useless."

"Just like vanity," Delphine tried. Alison glared at her.

"Alison... I may have found a little... I don't know, I guess I could call it a loophole... Anyway, I may have found a loophole in our reflectionless existence," Cosima told her cautiously.

Delphine eyed the brunette curiously.

"It says—whatever '_it_' is, the legend, book of unwritten vampire rules, et cetera—we can't see our reflections in mirrors. And, unfortunately, nor can we show up in film. Correct? But has anyone tried _water_? That is my question."

"I seem to be missing something..." Delphine told her.

"Water shows reflections. Have we not ever tried that?"

"Water?" Delphine repeated incredulously.

"Sure. Loo, or whatever."

"_Loo_?" Delphine questioned. She paused to think a moment and smiled when the true intention came to her. "You mean _l'eau_."

"Yeah, that's what I said..." Cosima told her matter-of-factly. "Anyway, so I tried it and it totally works. And may I just say that I am adorable? I can't believe I forgot how adorable I am! Never again."

"Well I promise to never let you forget," Delphine flirted. Alison made an exaggerated gagging sound as she stood up. The blonde, through her giggles called, "Alison, wait."

"What'd she look like?"

"Not like you," Delphine told her as her laughing subsided. She smiled kindly and gently. "She had curly hair—quite the opposite of yours. No fringe... I must say though—you are much cuter than she was."

"Was?" Alison asked. "You just said was."

"I meant is. She's... not here right now. I suppose you're right... I should've said is. But you are adorable, Alison. Trust me. Beth would be crazy to resist you."

Alison didn't feel any sense of pride in being told that she was more attractive than Beth's former girlfriend. She'd half-expected to.

"She was... very open. She could be closed. If you asked, she would answer. If you didn't, well, maybe you'd never know. She had a brilliant smile, you know... She was full of... an innocence that couldn't ever really be captured in any picture. You'd have to see her in person to really understand," Delphine told her. "And she had a light behind her eyes. It was always there, even if she was sad. She was always so full of potential... A true work of art in regards to the human race. One of God's masterpieces. I have no doubt about that. She was, in essence, perfect."

**. . . . . . . . . .**

"Ah, what a pleasure to finally meet you!" Aldous exclaimed as Delphine let him inside. Jane offered an obligatory smile and nodded at him. "Delphine has told me so much about you."

"'So much' or everything?" the woman asked, her snark surprising all of them including herself. She made a mental note to add that to her ever growing list of personality traits.

"I want to tell you now that there will be no secrets between us," he informed her as he grew serious. "So you may want to sit down—"

"I'll stand. Thank you."

Delphine's eyes went to Aldous as he raised his eyebrows.

"Suit yourself," he turned around and leaned against the counter with an irritating air of confidence. "Delphine tells me that she's named you. Jane, right?"

"Right," she nodded, staring at him curiously.

"You know that's not your name."

"Right."

"Well haven't you ever wondered what it really is? Or was, should I say?" he grinned mysteriously. "In fact, do you ever wonder about _anything_? Where you came from? What you look like? What your pet peeves are? Who _you_ are?"

The woman fell silent. The list of traits was nothing. She'd only pretended it helped fill the gap in her soul.

"I've taken good care in hiding you away..." Aldous continued. "When you hear your name—not the one Delphine gave you, your real name—you will remember everything. That was why I said that you may want to sit down... The rush of memories may be too much for you."

"I'll _stand_," she repeated forcefully. "_Thank you_."

"After your memories come back, I will give you a choice. You are free to choose whichever option you want. Your name is..." he paused and looked her right in the eyes. "_Adelina Herkus_."

She could almost feel her heart pound as flashes of her previous life came back. She had a petite build and kind eyes. Her smile shone brighter than most, something everyone always commented on, and her face had an overall look of innocence. Her hair was curly and glossy under light.

Did she ever love anyone? She remembered that she did. A woman. Elizabeth Childs. But she didn't like the full name Elizabeth. She had a nickname. What was it? Liz? No... Beth. It was Beth.

The name itself led to an image of her girlfriend's smiling face. The wolf, despite having a mercurial personality, had a kind heart. When it boiled down to it, she'd always assumed the shifter's changing moods were simply wolfish attributes. She could hear her voice, all of its intonations and such. She could hear her say her name.

_Adelina_.

No, wait.

_Lina_.

She smiled at the memory before being taken over by a pang of nostalgia which grew increasingly until she felt heartbroken.

"Are you alright?" Delphine softly asked her.

"What happened?" she hoarsely inquired. "Where is Beth?"

Aldous looked at Delphine as if he were asking her something telepathically and she nodded solemnly.

"She died," Aldous replied. Adelina's heart jolted. "Only a little bit after our deal. You see, the immortality thing works like this: we have the capability to live forever, given that nothing fatal happens to us. Does that make sense? I could live forever, that is, unless I am staked. It doesn't mean that I cannot be killed. It just means that I can't die on my own."

"How'd she die?" she asked as the memories of searing pain flooded her mind. Yet she couldn't see the face that did this to her. It was a blurry figure. "Trying to save me?"

"Yes."

"God dammit, Beth..." she breathed. She felt as if she were suffocating.

"I understand that you're experiencing some pain right now," Aldous gently interrupted her. "But I need to tell you the rest."

"Carry on," she nodded weakly.

"We wiped your memory," he admitted culpably. "We figured it was for the best. We had to hide you, for one thing. You're highly sought after now. You've got something we don't."

"What's that?"

"We don't know yet," he answered truthfully. "And we wiped your memory... Because you asked us to."

"I what?" she blinded a few times, dumbfounded at his claim.

"You asked us to. Do you remember our conversation? Your last conversation as a human?"

"You offered immortality to me."

"Yes. I did. And you were willing to do anything for it. Do you remember why?"

"So I could be with Beth forever. She'd— she'd just told me that she was a werewolf and that it meant she'd never die."

"Correct. But what were the conditions?"

"I had to swear my loyalty to you."

"Not just to me."

"The clan you lead."

"Yes. And what did I tell you once your transition was initiated?"

"I couldn't ever see Beth again. Clan's rules."

"Do you understand now why you asked me to remove your memory?"

"Yeah..." she sighed.

"Here are your options. Option one: I set you free as you are right now. You are no longer bound to me or anyone else. You must fend for yourself. You cannot come to me—or anyone else from the clan, for that matter—for help. Option two: I wipe your memory once again and you will remain in hiding and bound to the conditions set in your deal for immortality. You will once again not remember your past life nor will you remember Beth."

"So I'll be blank like I was when I first woke up?"

"Yes. And you will not remember this conversation. The process, in case you're wondering, does not affect your intelligence."

"Do I have to decide right now?"

"No... But I wouldn't push it past a month or two," Aldous advised her. She nodded and told him that she'd rather wait. "Well. Do what's best for you."

**. . . . . . . . . .**

"Aldous," Delphine called. "May I speak to you?"

"Sure. What about?"

"What if she chooses option one?"

"She won't. I know her."

"But what if?"

"Then I suppose I have an promise to uphold."

"Aldous, we need her."

"It was _your_ idea for the second memory deletion. That will of course make option number two more daunting."

"I told you it was a safety precaution. Most people cannot tap into their subconscious— when they can, it is only so far. I stand by creating these two subconsciouses. If she taps into one it's going to be this one—yet another dead end. She won't be able to reach her second, true one."

"Delphine, this has never been done. We don't even know its effects."

"Just trust me."

"You know Rachel said those exact words?"

"Rachel and I are two different people."

"With two different motives."

"_Touché_."


	10. Chapter 10

Cosima's eyes snapped open as her phone vibrated in her pocket. She chuckled as she turned her near-silent alarm off. Waking up to a slight vibration in her pocket was way better than waking up to a shrill, obnoxious noise like she had as a human.

She'd been trying to shift her sleep schedule to that of a diurnal creature; it would be easier to dig around for information with everyone else sleeping. She was tired of being left in the dark on everything.

She slowly opened her coffin, grabbing her glasses out of the small compartment meant for the deceased's treasured possessions, and closed it softly.

She peeked into Rachel's room and jumped a mile when she saw the blonde staring ahead right at her, emotionless and completely still.

"Sorry. Didn't know you were up," the brunette mumbled and pulled her head out only to stick it back in within a few seconds after realizing the blonde was a little too emotionless—even for her. "Rachel?"

The Brit didn't even stir at the mention of her name. Cosima looked around before daring to set foot in Rachel's bedroom and she tiptoed over to the usually intimidating vampire. Cosima smirked before she stuck her tongue out at the blonde and much to her delight, she still did not get a reaction. She concluded that Rachel must sleep with her eyes open.

"See ya later, bitch."

Cosima skipped soundlessly out of the room, grabbing something off the bedside dresser. She helped herself to a bag of blood before taking out the stolen item and dumping a glass eye into her hand.

"Rachel, Rachel, Rachel... Well aren't you the dark, one-eyed horse."

Cosima bit the bag and held it between her teeth and went to unlock the door with the eye when she realized that the door in front of her required an actual key.

"Derm," she grumbled through her occupied teeth as she pulled a bobby pin out of her hair. She smirked at her own wit as she began to jiggle and pick at the lock. Much to her surprise, the door eventually popped open and she made her way downstairs.

"Oh whoa... This's weird..." she mumbled as she noticed a single door. She studied it and noticed what looked like a scanning device mounted on the wall to the left of it. She tossed the eye up and caught it once before turning it around so that the iris faced the scanner and held it there as she patiently waited for the information to process. A small black cover slid open with surprising speed.

"Delphine?"

The sound of the voice made her jump and she dropped the eye, causing it to shatter.

"Shit," Cosima cursed looking down at the pieces.

"Alison?" the voice tried again. Cosima looked up and finally recognized it as Aldous'.

"What, does everyone know about this room except me?"

"Yeah..." he admitted as he rose to his feet.

Cosima hissed frustratedly and put a hand to her forehead.

"Look, that's not what matters. You're here and that's what I wanted."

"That's not creepy."

"Cosima, you're smart. I figured it was only a matter of time before you got yourself down here. I'd just have to wait."

"Great plan," Cosima facetiously commented.

"You've got a curious mind. I know you knew that you weren't told everything. You'd have to look here. But the point is, we need to take Rachel down, once and for all."

"Why? So you can boss us around again? No thanks."

"It would be better for all of us."

"All of us?"

"I know you don't like me, but at least I didn't make you pick up glass," Aldous countered. Cosima almost agreed with him.

"But you instead slapped Alison around," she retorted, setting her hands on her hips.

"You're right. I did. I'm a bit old fashioned—"

"Well that doesn't fly now," she informed him. She paused and asked him, "Why?"

"Why do I want to take Rachel down? I made a promise to someone," he remarked.

"Aldous, I'm not gonna help you carry out a lover's promise. That's your business."

"How'd you know it was a love promise?"

"The way you said it."

"It's not for me. It's for someone else. Look, do you know anything about a little black book of mine?"

"Okay, that's disgusting. I really don't wanna know about a list of people you've banged."

"It's not that. It's a journal. Do you know about it?"

"No."

"Delphine and Alison do—"

"What a surprise—"

"Listen to me!" he exclaimed with frustration. "Just listen to me, Cosima. It has an entry that I'm sure will get you closer to finding Adelina. You're smart. I know you'll make some sense of it somehow. I don't know where it is—you'll have to ask Delphine or Alison. Trust me, Cosima—"

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"It's me or Rachel."

"You both suck."

"I know," he paused ashamedly. "But Adelina was bound to the coven I led. I told her that. That was the condition."

"Okay..." Cosima urged him to continue.

"I no longer lead this clan. She's no longer bound to it."

"So she's free."

"She is indeed free," he nodded.

"And you wanna take Rachel down so you can rebind her?"

"No, I want to take Rachel down so she's safe. Once I regain power, I'd release her myself. That was the love promise—now that she's free, she can see Beth again. But I cannot liberate her. You need to find her and tell her that she is free to go."

"That's all? No catch?"

"No catch. But when you find her," he said. "Tell her I'm sorry—"

"Oh cut the shit, Aldous..." Cosima shook her head.

"No, really. Tell her I'm sorry. And tell her to find Beth."

"Anything else, drama queen?"

"Don't let Rachel get to her. That's the last thing you want to happen. Now that she isn't a part of this clan anymore, Rachel has the power to kill her once and for all—that was her original plan. She sent me to do the dirty work. You can kill other vampires, given only that they're not one of your own."

"I really don't like you," Cosima reminded him.

"I know."

"But I'll try."

"I know," he went silent for a moment before speaking again. "Give me the pieces to that eye."

"What? Why? I need this."

"Just give them to me."

Cosima rolled her eyes but hastily picked up the pieces and handed them over to him. She heard clinking inside the cell, but when she looked inside his back was to her and she couldn't see what he was doing. Within moments, he turned around and the eye was whole once again without a single hint of even a crack.

"How'd you do that?" she inquired.

"Same way I hid Adelina," he responded. "Magic."

Cosima rolled her eyes once more.

"You gonna eat that?" he asked as she gestured to the blood bag. She wrapped her fingers around it before tucking it in her back pocket.

"Yes actually," she indignantly responded before she sealed him inside using the eye and made her way back upstairs. She went straight to Rachel's room and upon finding her still sleeping, she put everything back. When she turned around, she noticed a small black triangle sticking out from the mattress. She took one more look at Rachel before sneaking over to the mysterious item and slid it out. It was a little black book.

She cringed as she opened it, but found that Aldous had been telling the truth. It was indeed a journal. Rachel must've been reading it, Cosima realized. She must also be looking for Herkus.

The vampire stared at the last entry having only read a few sentences when she saw Rachel stir. The brunette thought quickly on her feet and took a picture of the page before sliding the book back to its exact position and making a rapid exit.

She read the entry as she walked down the hall and into her room.

"Cosima, what are you doing up so early?" Delphine inquired as she startled the brunette. "I turned over in my coffin and I didn't feel your presence and when I went to look in yours, you were gone."

"Well, I um..."

"Were you hungry?"

"No, why?"

"Because you have some blood on your lips," Delphine chuckled as she floated over to her with a gentle smile. "I won't tell."

"Good," Cosima feigned relief and managed a grin.

"Is that what I think it is?" Delphine wondered aloud with a mischievous smirk as she took the phone from Cosima's hand and put it on a nightstand.

"What?" Cosima asked as Delphine backed her up against the wall. The blonde only responded with a slow kiss on the lips as she tenderly licked the blood from Cosima's mouth and smiled as she pulled away.

"What a coincidence," she hummed, feeling high from the metallic taste. "That is my type and so are you."

Cosima could see the electrifying euphoria it brought to Delphine and she had to admit that it was indeed a turn-on.

"I have some more if you want to share," Cosima smirked as she pulled out the bag of blood. She swore she saw the blonde's eyes gloss over with desire and anticipation.

"Please," Delphine whispered.

"Then it's all yours," Cosima shrugged and handed her the bag before going over to pick her phone back up. Delphine's jaw dropped, but she soon recovered and followed the brunette.

"Cosima?"

"Look, I got up early. Big deal. I'm tired now so I think I'm gonna catch one more hour or so. Then I'll get up. Alright?"

The blonde eyed the phone in her hand, but nodded anyway without any further questioning. The brunette gave her a single nod before closing the coffin over herself and reading the rest of the last entry.

. . .

Cosima woke with a start to rapping on the ceiling—or rather, the top of her coffin. She pounded once, hard and with her fist and the continuous knocks ceased as she pushed it open.

"Cosima, we need to talk. Rachel is—"

"You!"

Cosima turned to see a furious Rachel standing in the doorway.

"Yes. Me," Cosima replied. "Me what?"

"Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"You know what!"

"I don't know what. What?"

"The book. Where is it?"

"Rachel, I don't have a book."

The blonde stormed over to her and literally turned her casket upside down and shook it yet among the contents that fell out, not a single book could be found.

"I know you had it. Who else would've come into my room and taken it?"

"Rachel, I really have no idea what you're talking about. Chill out, would you?"

"This is all your fault!" the Brit snapped at the two of them. "If you hadn't been so lackadaisical with the no werewolf policy..."

"What do werewolves have to do with this?"

"I can smell one."

Cosima instantly put the pieces together and figured that Beth must've snuck into the house somewhere in that hour interval she'd been reading—and had fallen back to sleep shortly after.

"Shit."

"So you do know something," Rachel accused.

"No. I just... Maybe you should get Aldous."

"Aldous won't do a thing," Rachel scoffed.

"But he could serve as live bait... Or even as a distraction or hindrance," Cosima pointed out. Rachel seemed to consider it for a moment.

"No."

. . . . . . . . . .

"You don't like girls," her mother insisted as she shook out her dusting rag. "And stop saying that. That is utterly repulsive and abnormal. It cannot be."

"Mother, I do..." Beth argued as she fiddled with a broom.

"Elizabeth, do not make me go get your father!" the woman sharply warned.

"So get him. What will he do that he hasn't already? Try to beat it out of me?"

"That is it!" her mother shouted. "I am going to fetch the priest. He will know what to do with you."

"No... Please," Beth cried out in anguish, clinging to her mother's garments. "Please. Don't."

Her mother eyed her.

"I'll stop," Beth desperately tried as she dropped to her knees. "I'll stop liking girls. Okay? I-I won't see her anymore."

"I thought you said you'd stopped seeing her months ago."

"I did... less frequently."

"Elizabeth... I am getting the priest. It is for your own good."

"Mother, please..." she begged shamefully as tears prickled behind her eyes. "Don't make me go through that again."

"Elizabeth, darling... You are sick. An exorcism is only meant to help you."

"It didn't help," Beth replied quickly, trying to slow her mother's pace. "Not the first time, not the second time and it certainly won't this time. Please don't get him. Please. Don't do that to me. You saw what it did to me."

"Elizabeth, let go of me! You're acting like a child!" her mother shouted before ripping the shaking girl's hands from her clothes and tearing off down the path. The girl felt herself go numb as she watched her mother disappear. It would be about a half hour or so until she and the priest returned. The girl picked herself up slowly and kicked the dirt on the path angrily. She was furious.

Furious that she liked girls. Furious that her mother called her sick. Furious that everyone thought an exorcism would help. Furious that her mother was willing to put her through hell for it to all be in vain. She went inside and moped around the house, taking a writing implement and a sheet of paper.

_Dear Father and Mother:_

_I want to apologize for leaving you this way. I understand that it is harsh and it is abrupt. But I see no other choice for a person as condemned as I am. I know you both are angry as you read this and I am sure you both will never forgive me. But I must live with these consequences. Before I go, I wish to say a few things._

_1. I like girls in a way I should like boys. There is nothing more to say about this._

_2. I realize that once I set foot out this door, I will never be welcomed back inside again. Not to worry, I have no intention of ever returning._

_3. I loved you both... and I will continue to do so from a safe distance._

_Goodbye._

_—Elizabeth_

And with that, the girl hurtled herself toward the woods, never to be seen by any of the townspeople again. And when her mother returned with the priest to her right and her husband to her left, she nearly fainted at the sight of the rushed scrawling left on the page.

"She is gone," was all she could manage

. . . . . . . . . .

The girl curled up in a ball underneath a large tree, shivering as she tried to fall asleep. Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched by six set of yellow eyes through the nearby bushes.

"It's a girl," a wolf whispered to his companions.

"No shit," a female wolf snapped. "Nice observation, Arthur."

"What's she doing here?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ask her?" she flatly retorted with an eye roll.

"Allow me," the larger female wolf softly told them as she shifted back to her human form. She approached the trembling girl with grace and an unmatchable amiability. "Hello there."

The girl jumped and scrambled up against the tree as the woman approached slowly. She walked with poise and grace attributed to that of royalty. Beth couldn't help but lose her breath and train of thought. The woman wasted no time in closing the gap between them and pressing her tender lips against Beth's, kissing her ever so softly and initiating a make out session from Beth's fantasies. The girl hesitated at first, but began to kiss with slow-growing confidence before altogether tearing herself away and gasping just as the woman's tongue made its way into her mouth.

"I-I'm sorry..." Beth stuttered, surprised at her rashness. "I shouldn't have done that."

"No... The guilt should be mine," the woman assured her with delicate warmth. Beth studied her with awe and fascination. She'd never actually kissed another female before. It was even more of a surprise that this woman seemed to share the same attraction. Maybe she wasn't sick. "I should've asked first. Clara."

The woman extended a beautifully sculpted hand for Beth to shake and she gladly accepted it with mild embarrassment from their encounter only seconds ago.

"Elizabeth."

"Ah, yes. Elizabeth," the woman nodded as she turned and began to walk away. "You are... the blacksmith's daughter, aren't you?"

Beth foolishly nodded, forgetting that the woman didn't have eyes in the back of her gorgeous head.

"And you ran away because you have an incurable illness," the woman continued, turning to face the girl. "An non-expellable demon..."

Beth nodded for a second time.

"Darling, you're not sick..." the woman's gentle voice assured her. Beth almost believed her right then and there. "Nor possessed. You are simply... special."

Beth continued to gawk with growing curiosity and admiration as the woman's bright features seemed to darken as her face grew serious.

"I take it that you no longer have a family," she breathily remarked, almost robotically. "No place to go. Surely a girl as vulnerable as yourself will perish out here in these woods at this time of night..."

Beth didn't know how to respond.

"Would you like to join me?"

"I don't... I don't know you..."

"Smart," the woman commented. "Darling... my tongue was down your throat. What more is there to know about me?"

Beth saw her point and knew the woman could see her agreement.

"Come," the woman instructed, sending shivers down Beth's spine. The girl followed her and suddenly became aware of a presence behind her and turned to face two rather large wolves. She yelped and jumped away from them. Much to her surprise, they didn't pursue her. She looked at the woman's surprisingly tranquil face questioningly.

"These are my pets... Arthur," she pointed to the one on Beth's right before gesturing to the one on her left. "And Angelia."

Beth stared at them.

"They won't hurt you," she promised with a kind smile. She looked them straight in the eyes and gave them both a chastising look. "Perhaps you could be more polite and welcome her on even ground."

She heard a series of grunts as they shifted their shape before her eyes. She thought she'd pass out from the surprise. It was as if her brain couldn't to register what'd just happened.

"W-What are you?" she stuttered as she looked to the woman.

"What are you?" the woman responded mysteriously.

"Human..."

"That's a start," she frowned, still not revealing anything more. "But what kind of human are you?"

Beth stared at her.

"I choose my family wisely," she told her. "I do not tolerate evil. Do you understand?"

Beth nodded.

"You. Are not evil. Prove that to me," she told her. "And I can offer you a better life. Does that sound like an agreement you would be willing to take?"

"Yes."

"Then come," the woman told her again before continuing on.

. . .

"Beth, the door!" Art shouted to her. He sat at the table, cleaning the underside of his nails with a knife.

"I'm not available right now," she called back. She sat hunched over a small leather book, reading every word intently as she tried to imprint them in her mind. She knew who stood on the other side of that door. A person who'd take the book away. Art sighed and got up to answer the door.

"Hey," the girl said immediately. Art jumped as a friendly smile spread across her face. "I'm Cosima. I don't know if you remember me or not, but... I'm here to see Beth."

The werewolf froze as she heard her name and looked up from the page. She had only a few pages to go.

"Beth's not available right now," Art told her firmly as he crossed his arms and stood with his feet cemented to the ground.

"Bullshit," Cosima smirked as she pushed past him and made her way into the house. "I heard you two talking just a few seconds ago."

Art rolled his eyes, but closed the door behind her and followed her around as she looked in each room.

"I can see that we're gonna regret granting you entrance," he commented flatly. Cosima ignored him.

"Beth?" Cosima called, opening the final door to reveal the werewolf leaning back against a desk in anticipation for her appearance.

"Hey," she greeted her. "Come in, would you? And close the door behind you."

Cosima followed orders and went straight over to her.

"Where's the book?" she asked. Beth chuckled and pulled it out from behind herself and handed it over. Cosima smirked and said, "I had to endure an unwarranted search because of this."

"Sorry," Beth grinned back. "I just had to get my paws on it."

"I see what you did there. Look, I'm not here to take it from you... I just had to make sure you had it."

"Yup... I had it. But I don't have her."

"I know... I'm still trying to figure that out too," Cosima admitted as she turned the book over. "Rachel knows you—"

"I know. I wasn't very careful on purpose. She can come after me if she wants. See if I care," Beth grinned confidently.

"I can see what Alison sees in you," Cosima told her with a smile. "I just wonder what she'll do when you find Adelina."

"I haven't thought about that yet," Beth admitted stiffly before pressing her lips together and furrowing her brows. "I don't even know what I'm gonna do."

"Well, I know you'll make the right choice..." Cosima replied strangely, without a tone.

"Hope so," Beth shrugged.

"I think she's considering helping you find her..."

"That's kind," Beth stated as she cleared her throat and pushed herself off the desk and went over to Cosima, making sure to leave only inches of space. "But I think this one's a solo mission."

"What, you wanna play hero?" Cosima asked, her tone more challenging than she'd meant.

"No," Beth promptly and sharply answered.

"All I heard..." Cosima paused as she stared directly into Beth's eyes. "Was that you don't trust Alison."

Before Beth could reply, Cosima tore her gaze away and began walking out.

"Good to know where you stand, wolf..." she muttered as she let herself out. Beth growled inaudibly as the door closed behind the vampire.


End file.
